Actor and outspoken crypto critic Ben McKenzie has taken his opposition to the digital asset industry directly to Capitol Hill. He is lobbying U.S. senators to vote against the CLARITY Act, one of the most significant cryptocurrency market structure bills currently before Congress.
According to journalist Eleanor Terrett, the former The O.C. star spent Tuesday meeting with lawmakers in Washington in an effort to persuade them to reject the legislation, which would establish a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States.
From television star to crypto skeptic
Best known for portraying Ryan Atwood in the hit 2000s television drama The O.C., McKenzie has emerged as one of Hollywood's most prominent critics of cryptocurrencies.
His interest in the industry began around 2020 after he became increasingly skeptical of celebrity endorsements and the rapid influx of money into digital assets. That research ultimately culminated in the documentary Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, which examines crypto through interviews with industry critics, retail investors who suffered losses and former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
While promoting the documentary earlier this year on The Daily Show, McKenzie argued that investors place too much faith in software rather than the people behind it.
Pointing to his interview with Bankman-Fried before the collapse of FTX, McKenzie added: "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."
McKenzie has also been highly critical of Bitcoin itself.
Calls for stronger regulation
Although McKenzie has frequently criticized cryptocurrencies, he has insisted that his primary concern is consumer protection rather than banning digital assets outright.
His documentary focuses heavily on victims of failed crypto companies such as Celsius, arguing that speculative marketing has disproportionately targeted 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 said, paraphrasing Matt Damon's widely discussed Crypto.com advertisement.
McKenzie's activism has drawn criticism from prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry.
In April, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty criticized the documentary, calling its portrayal of digital assets a "tired narrative."
Alderoty argued that the documentary paints the entire industry with too broad a brush, noting that "tens of millions of everyday Americans are already using this tool in practical ways, to diversify their income, run their businesses, and access new financial opportunities."
McKenzie's latest lobbying campaign comes as the CLARITY Act approaches a crucial stage in Congress, with lawmakers debating legislation that supporters say would provide long-awaited regulatory certainty for the crypto industry.
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