Actor Ben McKenzie Talks ‘Crypto’ Scams and the Golden Age of Fraud on CoinGeek TV

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Whenever celebrities are mentioned next to digital assets, it’s usually because they’re token pumping or trading. Ben McKenzie is an exception and stands on the opposite side of this statement calling scammers “crypto”. The Hollywood star joined CoinGeek TV at the London Blockchain Conference to discuss the descent down the “crypto” rabbit hole over the past two years.

While he first heard about digital assets over seven years ago, McKenzie only got involved in the past two years. Speaking to CoinGeek TV host Kurt Wuckert Jr., theO.C.andGothamstar said he was skeptical of any “to the moon” promises. He embarked on an industry study trip, leading to his book “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.”

“It was an incredible adventure,” he says of his trip that took him to Capitol Hill to testify about FTX’s collapse before Congress.

In the United States, digital assets were a Wild West where “people had the right to do whatever they wanted,” says McKenzie. This allowed crime to proliferate, with some like Sam Bankman-Fried at one point being brand geniuses for building “crypto” empires that have since crumbled.

McKenzie was on stage at the London Blockchain Conference to talk about industry regulations alongside Yves Mersch from the European Central Bank. He was adamant that self-regulation is a band-aid for the industry and will only give criminals enough leeway to defraud investors.

“I am a father of three children and I know that self-regulation is not a thing. Sometimes we have tried self-regulation in my house, and it ends up with writing on the wall and stains on the couch,” he repeated in his interview.

Regulatory arbitrage between the United States, Europe and Asia

A recurring theme with the regulation of digital assets has been the comparison between the approaches of regulators in different jurisdictions. Some of the largest digital asset companies in the United States have threatened to move their operations to Europe or Asia when faced with regulations that do not favor them, from Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Ripple at Circle and Gemini.

While the United States must remain competitive, McKenzie warned of a race to the bottom between the United States and other jurisdictions as each fights to attract VASPs.

“I want the American consumer to be protected, and I think it’s crucial that America succeeds, because we are world leaders when it comes to capitalist legal frameworks,” he said.

The actor fears that the narrative of America lagging behind Europe and Asia “will be used as a grandfather way into a bunch of cryptos with no real use.” He thinks the United States is not under threat in the innovation circles of China, Russia, or European countries, even with its restrictive approach to digital asset regulation.

“I’m very skeptical that they’re going to get ahead of us using this particular form of technology,” he told CoinGeek TV.

For now, regulators need to be tough on “crypto” projects to protect investors, McKenzie insists. He believes we are in a new era of “casino capitalism” where scammers lure investors with promises of overnight riches, the last avenue being digital assets. With a global economy weighed down by inflation and the recurring effects of the pandemic, distressed investors are easy prey.

Investing in a token and hoping it explodes overnight is not the solution to the problems, he said.

“We need to create a fairer distribution of wealth, a real safety net for people so that they are not tempted to gamble wildly and destroy their lives and their families,” he remarked.

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