Ben McKenzie’s Crypto Documentary Takes an Independent Path

Ben McKenzie’s film *Everyone Is Lying to You for Money* will be available to rent or buy on August 22, a date scheduled for its home-entertainment launch on the indie platform Eventive.

Variety Magazine

The documentary, which earned a 100 % “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and roughly $150,000 during its limited theatrical run, expands on McKenzie’s 2023 book *Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud* (co-written with journalist Jacob Silverman). McKenzie, a former economics major, became skeptical of cryptocurrency during the COVID-19 lockdown after a friend introduced him to Bitcoin. He argues that the largely unregulated market enables money-laundering, illegal purchases, and retail-investor fraud, positioning crypto as a “sham” that evades securities laws.

Variety Magazine

• Target audience: 100,000 viewers within two weeks, which McKenzie deems a “phenomenal success.”

Variety Magazine

• Distribution: Eventive, a non-subscription platform that lets indie films reach consumers directly.

Variety Magazine

• Financial context: President Donald Trump has reportedly earned $1.4 billion in combined crypto-related income during his first year back in office, a figure McKenzie cites as influencing streaming platforms’ risk calculus.

Variety Magazine

McKenzie contends that major VOD services are “too hot to touch” because licensing the film could provoke political backlash. He notes that self-financing the project—using savings and about $1 million earned from betting against crypto fraud—gave him editorial freedom to criticize the industry without corporate pressure. He also acknowledges potential career costs, saying there is “no way to quantify” any impact on future casting.

Variety Magazine

• “If you’re a corporation and you’re trying to decide on the marginal value of buying an independent movie that you don’t have to buy, and potentially incurring the wrath of the Trump administration, it’s a pretty easy decision,” — Ben McKenzie, his wife, actor Morena Baccarin, and other cryptocurrency critics and experts

Variety Magazine

• “If we can get 100,000 people in the world to watch this movie over the course of two weeks, that’ll be a phenomenal success for us,” — Ben McKenzie, his wife, actor Morena Baccarin, and other cryptocurrency critics and experts

Variety Magazine

• “I felt very strongly that the only way to make this movie correctly was to do it completely independently and to finance it myself, which I frankly have the privilege of doing because of money I’ve made in television,” — Ben McKenzie, his wife, actor Morena Baccarin, and other cryptocurrency critics and experts

Variety Magazine

• “You’re not afforded the protections you ought to be when you’re investing in cryptocurrency,” — Ben McKenzie, his wife, actor Morena Baccarin, and other cryptocurrency critics and experts

Variety Magazine

These statements encapsulate McKenzie’s rationale for an independent release, his view of crypto’s regulatory gaps, and his expectations for audience reach.

Variety Magazine