Ben McKenzie says cryptocurrencies have a secret ingredient: male loneliness

It was Ben McKenzie Question: “When did WIRED die?” Specifically, the actor and director wanted to know when “DIE,” in capital letters, was written on WIRED.

Mackenzie wasn’t asking about himself; He was engaging in a time-honored celebrity tradition Read tweets I mean. Although in this case, it wasn’t the object itself so much as it was the post hosting the event. Mackenzie, who played the famous role of Ryan okay Before he became a leading voice for crypto skeptics, he shared the stage with a senior WIRED reporter Andy Greenberg For the first of what we hope will be a series of mini-events we’re calling WIRED@Night.

On April 16, about 100 people gathered for the partner event Ace Hotel Brooklyn To sip drinks from applause, Ugly face, Sorting tableand pack And thinking about the future of cryptocurrency.

MacKenzie, co-author Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraudhas a new independent documentary in theaters called Everyone lies to you for money. Greenberg, who often writes about cryptocurrency scams, talked to him about scenes from the book and movie, in which McKenzie traveled to places like the cryptocurrency hub of El Salvador to understand why the technology remains so attractive despite its less-than-stellar reputation.

One of McKenzie’s explanations? Male isolation. “It’s the longing for community, actual community,” McKenzie said, noting that cryptocurrencies exist online as a form of extreme gambling, something that has really exploded into the mainstream during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are more IRL antidotes to this kind of digital isolation.