“Knife-Sharp Documentary Takedown of Cryptocurrency” – Variety
In Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, actor and author Ben McKenzie turns investigator, pulling back the curtain on the cryptocurrency industry and the culture of hype, misinformation, and speculation that fueled its explosive rise. What began as a promise of financial freedom has evolved into a volatile ecosystem rife with fraud and reckless gambling, carrying with it devastating consequences for everyday people.
Through firsthand reporting, expert interviews, and a clear-eyed examination of major collapses and scandals, the film traces how crypto became one of the most aggressively marketed financial products of the modern era—and how warning signs were ignored, dismissed, or deliberately obscured. As fortunes are made and lost, Everyone Is Lying to You for Money asks a sobering question: who benefits from the chaos, and who is left to clean up the damage?
Accessible, urgent, and often darkly ironic, the film is both a cautionary tale and a call for accountability—cutting through the noise to expose a system built on speculation, influence, and belief rather than truth.
In English and Spanish, with English subtitles.
Join filmmaker Ben McKenzie for a special Q&A after each screening.
Ben McKenzie is the only six-time Teen Choice Award nominee to have written a NYT bestselling book on economics, as well as direct and produce a feature film on the subject. Easy Money and Everyone Is Lying to You for Money chronicle his investigation into the murky world of cryptocurrency and fraud. Ben has starred in three TV shows (Gotham, Southland, and The OC), appeared in numerous films (Junebug, Line of Duty, The Torture Report, and the upcoming Motor City), and performed on Broadway (the Tony-nominated Grand Horizons). He has written and directed multiple episodes of television. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three kids, all of whom are tired of him talking about crypto.
