Easy Money

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“A smart, savvy road map through the mayhem of the cryptocurrency madness.”—Ron Chernow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Alexander HamiltonFrom “one of the crypto industry’s unlikely but most prominent critics” (Washington Post), an entertaining and well-researched account of the rise and fall of cryptocurrency. At the height of the pandemic, TV star Ben McKenzie was the perfect mark for cryptocurrency: a dad stuck at home with some cash in his pocket, worried about his family, armed with only the vague notion that people were making heaps of money on something he—despite a degree in economics—didn’t entirely understand. Lured in by grandiose, utopian promises, and sure, a little bit of FOMO, McKenzie dove deep into blockchain, Bitcoin, and the various other coins and exchanges on which they are traded. But after scratching the surface, he had to ask, “Am I crazy, or is this all a total scam?” In Easy Money, McKenzie enlists the help of journalist Jacob Silverman for an investigative adventure into crypto and its remarkable crash. Weaving together stories of average traders and victims, colorful crypto “visionaries,” Hollywood’s biggest true believers, anti-crypto whistleblowers, and government operatives, Easy Money is an on-the-ground look at a perfect storm of irresponsibility and criminal fraud. Based on original reporting across the country and abroad, including interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried, Tether cofounder Brock Pierce, Celsius’s Alex Mashinsky, and more, this is the book on cryptocurrency you’ve been waiting for.

“If you're looking for a smart, savvy road map through the mayhem of the cryptocurrency madness, Easy Money is the guidebook for you. Ben McKenzie has given us a wry and knowing saga of his personal quest to expose the crypto charlatans, and his sleuthing uncovers a world of frauds, true believers, and opportunists that you won't soon forget.”, “If you're looking for a smart, savvy road map through the mayhem of the cryptocurrency madness, Easy Money is the guidebook for you. Ben McKenzie has given us a wry and knowing saga of his personal quest to expose the crypto charlatans, and his sleuthing uncovers a world of frauds, true believers, and opportunists that you won't soon forget.”, “If you're looking for a smart, savvy road map through the mayhem of the cryptocurrency madness, Easy Money is the guidebook for you. Ben McKenzie has given us a wry and knowing saga of his personal quest to expose the crypto charlatans, and his sleuthing uncovers a world of frauds, true believers, and opportunists that you won't soon forget.”, “Ben McKenzie takes us on an amazing journey, guiding us through the astounding story of how a bizarre cast of swindlers and scammers persuaded millions of people to take leave of their senses and part with trillions of dollars, only to put them into the surreal and illusory world of so called ‘crypto assets’ and watch them vanish into thin air. When it is all over, the last couple of years will prove to have been one of the strangest episodes in the history of money.”, “Ben McKenzie takes us on an amazing journey, guiding us through the astounding story of how a bizarre cast of swindlers and scammers persuaded millions of people to take leave of their senses and part with trillions of dollars, only to put them into the surreal and illusory world of so called ‘crypto assets’ and watch them vanish into thin air. When it is all over, the last couple of years will prove to have been one of the strangest episodes in the history of money.”

Ben McKenzie has been a fixture on TV for more than two decades, first capturing audiences in the pop culture phenomenon The O.C. Most recently, he played the lead role on Fox’s hit series Gotham, on which he also directed and wrote episodes. He recently appeared in Amazon’s political drama The Torture Report, and in 2020, he starred in Grand Horizons, which received a Tony Award nomination for Best New Play. McKenzie graduated magna cum laude from the University of Virginia with degrees in economics and foreign affairs.Jacob Silverman is a journalist writing about technology and national security for the New Republic. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, BookForum, Politico, and many other publications. In April 2012, he was a three-day Jeopardy! champion. Both live in Brooklyn, New York.