Boris Johnson Critiques Bitcoin, Calls It a “Pyramid Scheme”
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently described Bitcoin in a column as a “giant pyramid scheme,” which triggered swift responses from figures like Michael Saylor, the chairman of a major strategy firm, and numerous social media users.
In a post on a social media platform, Johnson shared a story about a retired man from an Oxfordshire village who paid £500 to someone in a pub, promising to double the investment in Bitcoin. According to Johnson, the man spent three and a half years dealing with fees while attempting to withdraw funds, ultimately losing about 20,000 pounds, which he labeled as “some kind of fraud.”
Johnson compared Bitcoin unfavorably to tangible assets like gold and collectibles, arguing that Bitcoin is merely “a string of numbers stored in a series of computers.” He questioned the trustworthiness of a system linked to a pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, lacking any institutional backing. “Who do I consult if I crack the code?” Johnson asked, pondering the realness of Nakamoto, questioning if he might be as fictional as a Pokémon character.
Pushback from the Crypto Community
The crypto community quickly countered Johnson’s assertions. Michael Saylor refuted the “Ponzi scheme” label, clarifying that such schemes necessitate a central operator who promises returns, which Bitcoin, described as having “no issuer, no promoter, no guarantee of return,” does not fit.
Saylor emphasized that Bitcoin operates as an open, decentralized monetary network, steered by market demand and code.
Following this, a note was added to the “Community Notes Program” on X, highlighting that Ponzi schemes typically promise unrealistically high returns with negligible risk, unlike Bitcoin, whose value arises from free market dynamics and public access to its code.
Responses from the community varied, with some elaborating on Bitcoin’s design and others critiquing governmental monetary policies. Points made included Bitcoin’s fixed supply and decentralized nature, contrasting it with traditional Ponzi structures. Others adopted a more confrontational approach, using memes to criticize central banks’ handling of the money supply during the pandemic, with BitMEX Research asserting that “No one is in charge.”
