Ben McKenzie documentary criticizes cryptocurrency "Everyone is Lying, Cheating Money," featuring interviews with SBF and the President of El Salvador

Hollywood actor Ben McKenzie, who spent three years filming the cryptocurrency critique documentary “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,” released a new trailer on March 10, with a North American release scheduled for April 17, 2026. The film features high-profile interviewees such as SBF and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, directly calling the crypto industry “the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.”
(Background: SBF documentary “The Fall of the Crypto King” airs on BBC! Starring Wall Street golden boy falling into hell)
(Additional background: Netflix is producing a FTX collapse series—SBF and Caroline’s “Love and Destruction Story” brought to the screen, with a star-studded cast revealed)

Ben McKenzie, a Hollywood actor known for his role as Ryan Atwood in “The O.C.” and later as a young Jim Gordon in “Gotham,” has recently taken on the role of a cryptocurrency critic. His documentary “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money” (Everyone Is Lying to You for Money) is set to be released.

He has not only spoken out in the media but also testified before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in December 2022, accusing the crypto industry of systemic fraud. In 2023, he co-authored the book “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud” with journalist Jacob Silverman, which topped The New York Times bestseller list.

This documentary is based on that book and is McKenzie’s directorial debut, officially scheduled for North American release on April 17, 2026.

Featuring SBF, Salvadoran President, and the Fall of Crypto Platform CEOs

The trailer includes McKenzie’s interviews with key figures in the crypto industry.

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, was interviewed months before his indictment. In the footage, SBF still appears as the enthusiastic “maximalist” of altruism, a stark contrast to his later courtroom image.

Another interviewee is Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who made Bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador—the first head of state to back a country’s credit with crypto assets. The success or failure of this policy remains controversial.

The film also features an interview with former Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky, whose lending platform collapsed in 2022, freezing assets of hundreds of thousands of users. Mashinsky later faced a 12-year fraud sentence and is currently incarcerated.

Beyond industry insiders, the film also interviews actors Morena Baccarin and Gerard Butler, illustrating the roles celebrities play in crypto marketing, as well as real victims—including a Texas businessman tearfully recounting losing his life savings on camera.

Opening Line: “Cryptocurrency is Pretty Stupid”

The trailer begins with McKenzie bluntly stating, “Cryptocurrency. It’s pretty stupid,” setting the tone for the entire film. He recalls his initial reaction when first encountering crypto:

"What the hell is this? All this crypto stuff makes no sense,

unless the entire crypto world is a scam."

The core of the film explores how the crypto industry has packaged itself as a “financial revolution,” systematically ignoring, suppressing, or deliberately obscuring traditional financial warnings, leaving retail investors unprotected and falling into traps. McKenzie calls cryptocurrencies “the biggest Ponzi scheme in history” and directly states that this “house of cards will eventually fall,” yet the industry continues to roll forward at an even faster pace.

Filming took place over three years across New York, Austin, Miami, London, and El Salvador, covering the rise and current cycle of crypto startups. For crypto believers, McKenzie’s critical stance is hardly news, but the trailer suggests the documentary has secured rare interview resources, making it particularly intriguing.