Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has labeled Bitcoin a 'giant Ponzi scheme,' arguing it relies on new investors rather than intrinsic value. He cited a case in his Oxfordshire village where a retired man lost £20,000 after investing in a purported bitcoin opportunity.
Johnson questioned the trustworthiness of a system built by the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, asking, 'Who do we talk to if they decrypt the crypto?'
Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy (MSTR), countered that Bitcoin is fundamentally different from a Ponzi scheme. 'It has no issuer, no promoter, and no guaranteed return-just an open, decentralized monetary network driven by code and market demand,' he stated.
The broader cryptocurrency community echoed Saylor’s stance, highlighting Bitcoin’s fixed supply, public code, and decentralized governance as core distinctions from fraudulent schemes.