Actor Ben McKenzie, who rose to global fame after starring as Ryan Atwood in the massively popular 2000s teen drama “The O.C.,” is now taking his anti-crypto crusade to mainstream American television.
He has lambasted Bitcoin on The Daily Show while promoting his new documentary (“Everyone Is Lying to You for Money”).
The “trust the code” fallacy
McKenzie, who holds an undergraduate degree in economics, explained that his deep dive into the crypto world began out of boredom and frustration over celebrities’ endorsements.
During his interview, McKenzie has argued against the industry’s mantra that pesky human interaction can be replaced by computer code.
“Code does not fall from the sky. People write code,” McKenzie stated, pointing to his awkward, pre-collapse interview with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried as the ultimate proof. “He instructed one of his employees to change a single line of code, which allowed him to borrow his customer’s assets. So I can’t think of a more vivid illustration of the intellectual fallacy that you can trust code.”
The actor did not mince words when assessing the broader ecosystem, particularly Bitcoin. “Bitcoin is full of lies. It’s full of misinformation,” he declared. “It’s also full of criminals.”
Exploiting young men
A significant portion of McKenzie’s documentary focuses on the victims of collapsed crypto platforms like Celsius.
He has complained about the industry exploiting the natural risk tolerance and societal pressures of young men.
“We’re barraging them with ads, telling them that not only should they engage in this, but if they don’t… what are you, a pussy? Buy crypto,” McKenzie noted, paraphrasing a notorious Matt Damon advertisement.
McKenzie has lambasted the crypto industry for refusing proper oversight. “The neatest trick of crypto, the cruelest trick, is to turn the blame back on the mark themselves,” he said. “But I genuinely do care about these guys, and I genuinely want to protect them. And the industry is not protecting them.”
The Hollywood star has clarified his stance on regulation. “I am simply asking for it to be regulated properly. And I’m also asking politely for the criminals to go to jail.”
