Is Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme?

[vkwame30]

I had arguments  with my friends  who are always  tagging  bitcoin with negativity. Today, we argued  and I educated them on bitcoin and Ponzi scheme.  To me Ponzi scheme  is when developers takes  money from new entrance to pay early birds,rinse and repeat until they raise enough and vanish. But bitcoin  is not like that.  Do you think I am right?

[imapessimist]

I can see why some people think it is a Ponzi scheme.  Because it doesn't pay interest like shares.  It can only rise if people pay money in.  And nobody can take more money out than they put in unless it's other people's money.  So everybody's profit in someone else's loss.  Or else it wouldn't work.  Not everyone can profit.  Although some people think everybody can profit.  Well they can't. 

[raminh]

Bitcoin price is determined by supply and demand. Sometimes bitcoin price rises and sometimes it falls. It is same as any other investment like real state, gold, etc. So It's not a ponzi scheme. Old investors can lose their money too. It is same as stock market. If we call Bitcoin s ponzi scheme, so stock market is also a ponzi scheme.

[thebanker28]

There are a couple of things I would do in this situation, firstly, I would remind your friend that a "Ponzi Scheme" was actually carried out with fiat currency, not crypto currency. Secondly - some people are just ignorant, if they are not going to get it, its OK. the same people probably have those pulse dial telephones at home and cant figure out why nobody calls them anymore. There are plenty of open minded people in the world, sometimes you have to let a few of the naysayers go.

[merciermk]

I had arguments  with my friends  who are always  tagging  bitcoin with negativity. Today, we argued  and I educated them on bitcoin and Ponzi scheme.  To me Ponzi scheme  is when developers takes  money from new entrance to pay early birds,rinse and repeat until they raise enough and vanish. But bitcoin  is not like that.  Do you think I am right?

Hello,

I think no. It's the same schema like real estate or classic stock exchange. the offer and demand create the price ... In ponzy schema , news investors paid old investissor dividends.

If you think its ponzy... you do think real estate and stock exchange is ponzy to.

[shulio]

Bitcoin fees are high. Bitcoin is not used for transferring money. There are no projects about bitcoin. İts price only rises when there are more buyers, so It acts like a Ponzi scheme nowsadays.

[tuskacz]

Yes it is ponzi scheme but shhhhhhhh, don't shout it as no one will believe you like dotcoms bubble and bitconnect brash.   Let bitcoiners pump it and live in their own dreams  

[btcgreen63]

It is absolutely not a Ponzi scheme. If people think that they either don't understand Bitcoin or Ponzi schemes. Bitcoin is a commodity that has value because people have a use for it. One use is as a method of payment. The second is the underlying blockchain technology which has value as a new general technology that will be useful for many purposes, many of which haven't even been thought of yet.

[First77]

I had arguments  with my friends  who are always  tagging  bitcoin with negativity. Today, we argued  and I educated them on bitcoin and Ponzi scheme.  To me Ponzi scheme  is when developers takes  money from new entrance to pay early birds,rinse and repeat until they raise enough and vanish. But bitcoin  is not like that.  Do you think I am right?

the Indian government cautioned people against investing in them, warning that they are similar to fraudulent investment schemes and have no legal status yet. “There is a real and heightened risk of  investment bubble (in virtual currencies) of the type seen in ponzi schemes which can result in  sudden and prolonged crash exposing investors, especially retail consumers, losing their hard-earned money,” the finance ministry said in a notification on Dec. 29, 2017

[777asianinvasian]

If you imagine Bitcoin is a ponzi scheme then anything that rises legitimately is also a ponzi scheme because people who invested early in anything gain a lot. That isn't what a ponzi is that is what you call good investing. Bitcoin is 10000% not a ponzi scheme this you can be certain of.

[vkwame30]

Bitcoin fees are high. Bitcoin is not used for transferring money. There are no projects about bitcoin. İts price only rises when there are more buyers, so It acts like a Ponzi scheme nowsadays.

But how do bitcoin fees related to its been a Ponzi scheme.  Educate me more. Banks also take fees for the service  they offer.  And how are more people  buying  get to do with Ponzi scheme

[Slow death]

I had arguments  with my friends  who are always  tagging  bitcoin with negativity. Today, we argued  and I educated them on bitcoin and Ponzi scheme.  To me Ponzi scheme  is when developers takes  money from new entrance to pay early birds,rinse and repeat until they raise enough and vanish. But bitcoin  is not like that.  Do you think I am right?

haff man why did you bother arguing about this when anybody can google and do their own research and come to their own conclusion. Do not waste your time trying to think about it, bitcoin is not ponzi scheme and if someone can not perceive it, then this person simply does not like bitcoin and is using argument of that is ponzi scheme. Some people when they do not like something to get justifications and fights to divert from the subject, in the last days I have seen this

If you imagine Bitcoin is a ponzi scheme then anything that rises legitimately is also a ponzi scheme because people who invested early in anything gain a lot. That isn't what a ponzi is that is what you call good investing. Bitcoin is 10000% not a ponzi scheme this you can be certain of.

It's hard to explain this to certain people.

[marcbitcoins]

I had arguments  with my friends  who are always  tagging  bitcoin with negativity. Today, we argued  and I educated them on bitcoin and Ponzi scheme.  To me Ponzi scheme  is when developers takes  money from new entrance to pay early birds,rinse and repeat until they raise enough and vanish. But bitcoin  is not like that.  Do you think I am right?

Bitcoin is not a scam but the people who use bitcoin platform to scam people is making bitcoin reputations to become bad. Your friends should not generalized Bitcoin currency as a Ponzi Scheme because people can make any scam businessess using the paper money too it just happen that bitcoin can be use to any illegal means in which maybe they become the victim.

[ASKoranteng]

Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme. The good news about bitcoin is you can exchange it for real money anytime you want to and is not controlled by anyone. Major economies in the world are accepting bitcoin trasactions and i don't think they would've done so if it was a ponzi scheme. Clear all doubts of bitcoin being a ponzi scheme cos it has come to stay.

[Photographer]

No, it is not at all a Ponzi scheme, even though it has one element of the Ponzi scheme: the value of Bitcoin rises ALSO because newcomers want to buy it and doing so they are creating wealth for the holders. FIAT money is much more a scam than Bitcoin, believe me.

[darkangel11]

To me Ponzi scheme  is when developers takes  money from new entrance to pay early birds,rinse and repeat until they raise enough and vanish. But bitcoin  is not like that.  Do you think I am right?

This is a common argument by people who have never seen an independent economy. Things like that simply don't exist in our world because there's always property rights. If something is unclaimed somebody will come in and put their name on it and demand others to pay him because it's his.
Bitcoin is different because it was simply put there for people to use and it was almost free for people to take and use, like that well surrounded by a fence that allows only one person at a time in. You can wait in line or you can pay a guy in front of you to let you in so you can get some, but the water is always there and it's always free.
Bitcoin is rising in value because people want to use it and to use it they have to buy it from someone who had it before them. It;s nothing like the ponzi scheme because there's nobody in control, nobody taking all the profits and nobody able to shut the system down. It will keep going until the value stabilizes and you won't be able to sell your coins for more than you paid for them.

[Rajatruck]

the bitcoin is not necessarily a ponzi, but the altcoins for the most part yes of course

[reymartH]

A pyramid scheme has no real business value, whereas you can buy goods or service with bitcoins. A pyramid scheme is a centralized system, with the con artists pulling the strings, collecting payments and paying out dividends. He can collapse the scheme anytime, by running away with the money. Whereas bitcoin is a decentralized system. The inventors and early adopters of bitcoin are unable to collapse the system even if they wish to.

[coinsons]

bitconect yes
bitcoin no !

[khaled0111]

You are 100% right, Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme and your friends must read more about cryptocurrency.
Invite your friends to read about ponzi scheme, here is a link to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme,
if they still confuse between it and Bitcoin then just stop arguing with them, they will never understand.