How Ben McKenzie became the celebrity "crypto naysayer"

The Cut

Last month, the former O.C. and Gotham star tweeted out an article about celebrities promoting crypto. "I’m just a former teen idol standing here (alone?) asking people to consider downside risk and the possibility of fraud," he tweeted. "I hope I’m wrong, but pretty sure we’ll find out soon enough. Good luck folks - don’t take financial advice from celebs, including me." Well, McKenzie is now co-writing a crypto book, titled Easy Money, with journalist Jacob Silverman, whom he has been co-writing Slate columns on cryptocurrency with since last October. McKenzie, who studied economics and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia, became interested in cryptocurrency after Gotham ended and found himself between jobs amid the pandemic. McKenzie thinks celebrities helping to sell cryptocurrency have no idea what they're getting involved with. So that's why he has aligned with other “no-coiners,” who believe the whole scheme is a bubble on its way to bursting. "I feel like a dork Liam Neeson in Taken; I have a particular skill set, and I’m using that particular skill set," he says. "I’m an econ dork, and I have a megaphone.”