GoKawiilThe identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, remains one of the blockchain’s great mysteries. Countless news articles, documentaries, and bits of internet speculation have attempted to unmask Satoshi to no avail. Earlier this month, The New York Times published a massive investigation into who they believed was behind Bitcoin. The man they identified protested that it wasn’t him.
Ben McKenzie—yes, Ryan from The O.C.—thinks it’s better, for Bitcoin at least, that Satoshi remains anonymous. Crypto, he says, “has a lot of aspects of a cult,” and “a deified figure who only exists as a pseudonym” is good for those.
Just to be clear, McKenzie doesn’t want this. He’s spent the last five years on a quest to tell anyone who will listen that cryptocurrency is a bad idea. In 2023, he and journalist Jacob Silverman released Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, a book on the topic that includes interviews with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Tether cofounder Brock Pierce, among others.
Earlier this month, McKenzie, who has an undergraduate degree in economics, released Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, a documentary based on his experiences investigating crypto and writing the book. As it was rolling out to theaters, McKenzie attended the inaugural WIRED@Night event to talk about the book and film (and read some mean tweets). He also sat down with me prior to the doc’s release to discuss his crypto fears—and what might happen to Bitcoin in the future.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
KATIE DRUMMOND: Ben, thank you so much for joining me.
BEN MCKENZIE: Thank you for having me, Katie. It's an honor to be here.
So, I actually was just at my desk upstairs and was reading the New York Times’ recent investigation into the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. I'm not even interested in talking about who Satoshi is; I haven't cared about that for a really long time. But because this piece just came out, I’m curious about your impressions of the sort of mythology and online fascination, almost obsession, with Satoshi. He’s almost treated like some mythical figure, like this magician or wizard who created Bitcoin and catalyzed this entire movement.
If you think of crypto as a story, it's a story with this really devoted, small following. And it has a lot of aspects of a cult. One great thing for a cult is a deified figure who only exists as a pseudonym. Because, in reality, it might be maybe this guy Adam Back, who's a very interesting character, or some other cypherpunk cryptographer from that era. But then it would be a real person and a real person would be a little bit of a letdown probably. Right?
Whoever it is.
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