Ben McKenzie could not get a single major streamer to license his cryptocurrency documentary. So on 22 August, he is releasing it himself.

"Everyone Is Lying to You for Money" will be available to rent or buy on Eventive, a digital platform built for independent films to reach audiences without a Netflix or Amazon deal (Variety). The release comes with a live Q&A featuring McKenzie, his wife and fellow actor Morena Baccarin, and a panel of cryptocurrency critics and experts.

McKenzie, best known for playing Ryan Atwood on "The O.C." and Jim Gordon on "Gotham," financed the film with personal savings and roughly a million dollars he made betting against frauds — primarily in crypto (Variety). The documentary argues that the cryptocurrency industry is corrupt and in need of tighter regulation. Variety's review, published in April, called it a "knife-sharp" takedown that contends crypto is confusing by design — because it is selling an illusion (Variety). The film holds a 100% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The boutique indie studio The Forge handled the theatrical release, which grossed roughly $150,000 in a limited run (Variety). Aside from a one-off live stream event, the documentary has not been available to purchase or watch online (Russh). The Eventive release on 22 August changes that.

McKenzie said he believes major streaming services passed on the film because the risk of angering the Trump administration was not worth it to them. The documentary's subject matter makes that calculation sharper: the film's release has coincided with reporting that President Donald Trump earned $1.4 billion in combined crypto-related income during his first year back in office (Variety).

The release on Eventive is, in part, a test of whether a filmmaker can build an audience without the major platforms. McKenzie said that if 100,000 people watch the movie within two weeks, it would be a phenomenal success — and could offer a blueprint for other filmmakers looking to bypass traditional VOD gatekeepers, the services that decide which films get shelf space on the platforms most people use.

For McKenzie, the project is personal as well as political. He put his own money on the line, drawn from profits he made shorting what he saw as fraudulent ventures. His wife, Baccarin — whose credits include "Deadpool" and "Homeland" — is involved in both the film and its live Q&A. The result is a family-funded documentary about an industry McKenzie argues is built on deception, released on a platform designed for filmmakers the big streamers left behind.