Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer
Episode Title: Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud
Guest: Ben McKenzie (actor, writer, and co-author of "Easy Money")
Release Date: November 11, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the rise and perils of cryptocurrency through the eyes of Ben McKenzie—an actor who leveraged his economics background and idle pandemic time to investigate and expose the fraudulent, speculative, and ultimately harmful underpinnings of the crypto industry. In conversation with hosts Nick Hanauer and Goldie, McKenzie discusses his journey into the world of crypto skepticism, the economic principles undermining crypto as currency, the dangers of casino capitalism, and the psychological and societal consequences of unchecked financial speculation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ben McKenzie's Motivation and Journey into Crypto Skepticism

• Pandemic Boredom Meets Finance: During lockdown, McKenzie—armed with an economics bachelor's degree—began following financial markets out of boredom and skepticism after a friend's crypto investment tip ([03:00]).
• Bad Advice Revisited: A college friend named Dave, with a history of giving bad financial advice, prompted McKenzie's initial doubts about crypto ([03:00]).
• Collaboration and Book Genesis: McKenzie teamed up with journalist Jacob Silverman to write Easy Money, after connecting over Twitter and finding time during the pandemic ([04:25]).

2. Central Arguments from "Easy Money"

• Crypto as Fraud and Speculation:
  • McKenzie and Silverman investigated major crypto figures, including interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried and Alex Mashinsky (both later convicted of fraud) ([05:27]).
  • El Salvador’s national Bitcoin experiment was not succeeding—crypto failed basic currency use-cases ([05:29]).
• Economic Critique:
  • Crypto does not function as money: fails as a medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account ([05:14], [09:23]).
  • Crypto history is rife with crime; private, corporate-issued currencies have historically been disastrous, evidenced by the 19th-century "wildcat" banking era ([07:30], [08:00]).
• On Blockchain Hype:
  • The allure of blockchain as a "magic" technology is overblown—it's simply a ledger prone to irreversibility, which is exploited by scammers ([11:20]).

3. Behavioral Economics of Speculative Bubbles

• Psychological Hooks:
  • McKenzie calls out crypto’s Ponzi-like social dynamics, referencing Robert Shiller’s concept of "naturally occurring Ponzi schemes" ([13:33]).
  • Even severe financial losses rarely shatter believers' convictions, paralleling cult behavior and cognitive dissonance ([15:41]).

"The more you're bought into it, almost literally, the more you cannot accept that you've been scammed or defrauded."
— Ben McKenzie ([15:56])

4. Societal and Systemic Dangers

• Why Should We Care?
  • Crypto and gambling’s pervasive advertising and integration into financial systems mean losses will not stay isolated. Repercussions threaten retirement funds, financial stability, and the broader economy ([17:31], [19:55]).
  • Crypto’s tentacles in regional bank failures, with institutions like Silvergate, Silicon Valley, and First Republic linked to the crypto crash ([21:09]).

5. Political Corruption and Regulatory Capture

• Corporate Power Grab:
  • The "GENIUS Act" paves the way for corporations to issue their own "stablecoin" currencies. McKenzie warns this expands corporate power at the expense of public regulation—echoing failures of the past ([21:45]).
  • The crypto lobby’s influence is bipartisan and lavish, corrupting legislative processes and buying political outcomes ([22:37], [23:32]).

"They have not only sort of incentivized people to vote for their legislation, but they've said, if you don't vote for us, we're going to come after you."
— Ben McKenzie ([23:35])

6. Personal Reflections and Societal Costs

• McKenzie’s Passion:
  • Investigating crypto fraud became both an intellectual and creative obsession for McKenzie, leading to his critical documentary ([24:05]).
• Addiction Analogies:
  • Goldie draws a parallel between gambling and crypto—profitable for the industry only because of those most at risk: problem gamblers/naive investors ([29:20]).

"The profit is in the problem gamblers. And the same thing is true with crypto. The people who are going to get wiped out are the people who can't afford to get wiped out."
— Goldie ([29:34])

7. Broader Economic and Political Implications

• Gambling Culture as Harm:
  • The normalization of risky speculation destroys personal finances and faith in economic fairness, with ultimate systemic risk borne by everyday people ([27:19], [31:00]).
• Political Money and Democracy:
  • Cryptocurrency’s influx of unregulated money distorts elections and threatens democracy at home and abroad ([31:30]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Crypto’s Failure as Money:
  "It can't fulfill the functions of money because it's not a good store of value, medium of exchange, or unit of account. ... It was being used as a speculative instrument for people to basically gamble on. And it was being used for crime."
  — Ben McKenzie ([05:14]-[06:33])

• On Blockchain Hype:
  "Blockchain is over 30 years old... It's just a ledger... The irreversibility of it is good for scammers, but is terrible for the trust that's needed to run a monetary system."
  — Ben McKenzie ([11:20])

• On Cult-Like Psychology:
  "Even though... Some of them have lost their life savings—every single one of them said: yes, I still believe in cryptocurrency."
  — Ben McKenzie ([15:15])

• On Political Danger:
  "Crypto lobby... spent $120 million in the last election cycle. One in every two corporate dollars came from crypto."
  — Ben McKenzie ([22:37])

• On the Bubble Mentality:
  "The schadenfreude will be incredible... That's what I mean. The schadenfreude overwhelms everything else for me."
  — Nick Hanauer ([27:13])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:12 | Ben McKenzie introduces his motivation and career pivot into financial journalism | | 05:14 | Articulating the main arguments from Easy Money | | 08:08 | Defining money vs. crypto—medium of exchange, store of value, unit of account | | 10:21 | Why crypto can’t fulfill these functions | | 11:20 | Debunking blockchain—irreversibility and scam utility | | 13:33 | Crypto as speculative bubble: Ponzi schemes, psychology | | 15:41 | Cult dynamics, cognitive dissonance among investors | | 17:31 | Why the greater public should care: systemic risk, bailouts, and social cost | | 19:55 | Gambling’s role in crypto culture and its societal harms | | 21:45 | Political risks: GENIUS Act allows corporate currency, crypto lobby power | | 24:05 | Ben’s personal passion for covering crypto fraud | | 29:20 | Gambling and bubble culture—parallel to crypto’s human cost | | 31:30 | Final warnings: political money, democracy threatened |

Concluding Thoughts

The episode closes with a heated but humorous exchange about schadenfreude, real economic harm, and the role of speculative risk in economic and political collapse. While Nick Hanauer jokes about his insulation from crypto’s fallout, Goldie and McKenzie bring home the consequences for ordinary people and democratic institutions. Listeners are invited to engage further by reading Easy Money or viewing McKenzie’s forthcoming documentary.

Links:

• Easy Money by Ben McKenzie and Jacob Silverman
• Ben McKenzie's documentary, Everyone is Lying to You for Money (details at DOC NYC)

For those seeking a bracing, accessible debunking of crypto hype—grounded in history, psychology, economics, and current events—this episode delivers, mixing expert analysis, wit, and social critique.