Bitcoin & Everyone Is Lying to You for Money

My Take on the Bitcoin documentary

A few weeks ago, a buddy and I went to see Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, the new documentary written, directed by, and starring Ben McKenzie. If that name sounds familiar it’s because Ben McKenzie is an actor with notable roles as Ryan from The O.C. and Jim Gordon on Gotham.

Before you roll your eyes at an actor making a finance documentary, it's worth noting that McKenzie has an economics degree from the University of Virginia. That said, he's still an actor, and you can tell from the direction that he came in with an agenda. I'm not convinced he was ever truly open-minded about Bitcoin, and I think that's important context for anyone watching this film. Take it with a grain of salt.

How an Actor Falls Down the Crypto Rabbit Hole

The film opens with McKenzie telling a story about a friend who, back in his early acting days, recommended a stock that completely tanked. After that, McKenzie didn't exactly trust this friend's financial advice. So when the same friend comes back during COVID telling him to buy Bitcoin, red flags start going off. Instead of buying, McKenzie takes it upon himself to do some digging and figure out what Bitcoin is really all about. That digging leads to some fascinating conversations with big players in the crypto space like Alex Mashinsky, founder of Celsius (which later went under), and Sam Bankman-Fried, the man behind FTX who's now behind bars.

McKenzie does a great job playing the dumb actor in his sit-down with Mashinsky, and Mashinsky shows his hand. The man is sleazy. I just watched Matilda with my elementary school kids, and Mashinsky reminds me of the dad played by Danny DeVito's. His character is the sleaziest used car salesman you can imagine. That's exactly who Mashinsky is as he pitches what Celsius does. It's telling, and it's unfortunate, because a lot of real people lost real money. You can clearly see this man was in it entirely for himself, with no genuine concern for what he was doing to his customers.

The Sam Bankman-Fried interview is fascinating for a different reason. My take is that SBF walked in thinking this would a puff piece with a B-list celebrity. He plays it like he's not worried at all but once the interview gets going, you can tell he's rattled. He may be twitchy by nature, but he was clearly uncomfortable with the questions McKenzie kept throwing at him. Eventually it gets to the point where SBF's aide steps and ends the interview.

Towards the end of the film, McKenzie ends up testifying before Congress, sharing his impressions of the industry and what he thinks the country should do to safeguard against it against Bitcoin and cryptocurrency fraud. Seated opposite McKenzie was Mr. Wonderful himself, Kevin O'Leary who as many know, took a big chunk of money from Sam Bankman-Fried as an FTX spokesperson and was apparently oblivious to what was going on. Take that for what you will.

The Saddest Part

The part that stuck with me most was McKenzie's interviews with people who lost everything in the Celsius collapse. These were good people just trying to build a better life for themselves and their families. You could see they'd gotten out over their skis, hoping this moonshot was the lottery ticket to a good life.

It didn't work out that way obviously. What was telling though is that when McKenzie asked them how they feel about cryptocurrency now, they remained optimistic. Still pro-crypto, despite everything Celsius did to them.

The film also debunks some popular crypto narratives along the way like the claim that it's widely used to transfer money (the research show it isn't), or that it's "digital gold." That one has aged especially poorly as during the last year gold was near all-time highs while crypto has been tanking.

McKenzie ends the film a confirmed skeptic. He's since taken his findings to numerous media outlets and wrote a book about it, Easy Money, covering not just crypto but the broader financial markets.

My Takeaways and What I’m Doing

So where do I land on all this?

First, I think cryptocurrency mostly lifts up the heavy holders. Look at the Trump coin, not a lot of regular people got rich off that. A few insiders pumped and dumped, and that pattern repeats across the industry. Probably 90 to 95% of crypto is garbage. As a CPA, I've had the same trouble McKenzie has getting behind Bitcoin. With a stock, you can see how the business is doing. You've got financial reports audited by an independent auditor, conference calls where you can ask questions, required disclosures. Bitcoin has none of that. Most people still don't understand Bitcoin or crypto and they just hope to jump on the bandwagon and ride it to financial freedom.

But to be perfectly honestly, that's exactly why I don't see Bitcoin going away. This isn't just a U.S. phenomenon, it's global. The "perfect life," the American dream of the white picket fence, 2.5 kids, and a house of your own, has become more and more unrealistic for a lot of people. And when the traditional path feels closed off, people cling to any semblance of hope. For a lot of people, that hope is crypto. As long as people are clinging to that hope, they'll cling to cryptocurrency, and you'll keep seeing these violent swings. You can't rely on fundamentals here as it's greater fool theory. It’s a speculative gamble. But it's not an asset that's going away.

As the most prominent and most profitable cryptocurrency, I think Bitcoin will be around for years, if not decades.

You might be wondering where that leaves me. I do hold a Bitcoin position, and I plan to keep it for the long term. That being said, I consider it a very speculative bet. If you're buying Bitcoin, you should be comfortable losing the entire amount. That's essentially the mindset I've taken, and I'd recommend the same to you. With Bitcoin, never put in more than you can afford to lose.

Thanks for reading, and happy investing.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. All investments carry risk. Please do your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.

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