{
  "id": 13167704,
  "title": "Is Crypto Dead? Or More Influential Than Ever?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/is-crypto-dead-or-more-influential-than-ever",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-09T17:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/10/crypto-influence-politics-ben-mckenzie/688946/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The host, Charlie Warzel, speaks with actor and documentarian Ben McKenzie about the current state of cryptocurrency. McKenzie became interested in investigating crypto during the pandemic and wrote a best-selling book with reporter Jacob Silverman and made a documentary titled \"Everyone Is Lying to You for Money.\" Crypto companies spent millions on American elections in 2024, influencing pro-crypto candidates and attempting to discredit skeptics. Donald Trump's family is also involved with crypto projects, and his holdings reportedly exceed $1 billion. The conversation explores whether crypto's most successful use case is political influence, why people aren't paying more attention to Trump's crypto use, and where crypto is headed.",
  "summary": "Ben McKenzie is a celebrity who investigated crypto during the pandemic, rather than shilling for it. He describes the currency’s strange journey.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}