Boris Johnson calling Bitcoin a ponzi scheme

[shinratensei_]

BTC has been called a lot of things in its ~ 17 years of existence, surely, been called a ponzi scheme or pyramid scheme wouldn't hurt, would it, lol. I like to believe Mr Boris knows he is wrong, he shouldn't be so stupid as not to understand what a ponzi scheme is and what BTC actually is.

Sometimes when we talk about things like this here, we even give it more attention. In the early days we had to dispute that BTC was not a bubble, right now we do not need to dispute anything about BTC.

It carry weight since the statement coming from formerly PM of the UK but yeah bitcoin has been called a lot of things indeed and even big investing firm like JP morgan or even Michael Saylor himself was fudding bitcoin back in the days.
This is nothing but just a random statement coming from person who don't understand about technology, thats it.

[Haunebu]

Why the heck would you be disappointed by what that clown says? Dude was the UK Trump several years ago and was screwed by his own party sensibly which is why his opinion about BTC and other crypto currencies does not really matter much at all.

Dude is history at this point which is why I am surprised to hear his name cropping up like this after a long, long time.

[Alpha Marine]

I like to believe Mr Boris knows he is wrong, he shouldn't be so stupid as not to understand what a ponzi scheme is and what BTC actually is.

You'd be surprised to learn that many of these people don't actually know what Bitcoin is. To know Bitcoin, you have to actually read about it and how it works or have someone explain it to you. I doubt these people have done either. They just jump on the bandwagon and repeat what they heard others say. If you ask him to explain why he believes Bitcoin is a Ponzi, he will give you the most ridiculous of answers.
They're so hooked on the traditional way financial assets work, they don't even bother to see past that. I don't know if I should say they have small minds that only stick to what is normal to them.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Can we finally stop giving Politicians who are over 60 years old attention when they say some thing about Bitcoin or any other new technology really? These people are from another generation and clearly do not even understand what they are talking about.

Aha! Too late I guess. Problem is, the better part of the new generation have been bamboozled into becoming Luddites just like their oppressors, whom they live up to.

I have surprisingly seen way more non Politicians being more aware of what Bitcoin is than Politicians.  It is crazy how smart they think they are talking about subjects they do not own any knowledge of.

"Who are you to challenge my statement"? Don't you know I'm "________" (proceeds to mention a political position as if being a mayor /Governor [for instance] makes them really smart.

[Rikafip]

I am very disappointed that a whole former UK Prime Minister does not actually know what ponzi schemes are. Or probably he does not know what bitcoin is. But at least he should know that there is nothing hidden about bitcoin investment like Ponzi scheme.

In order to be disappointed, you have to expect something from someone, and its naive to expect that politicians know what they are talking about.

He is just bashing bitcoin because price went down, nothing else.

[Z-tight]

It carry weight since the statement coming from formerly PM of the UK

Nah, his statement in this context has no weight at all. I wouldn't have known he said something like this if op didn't make this thread and more people than not know that Boris Johnson is a clown. BTC is now past that stage were politicians or popular figures can talk down about it and people would take them seriously. Now, everyone knows what to believe for themselves, the facts are there, it is all open source, the data is there; you don't need any clown to tell you anything about BTC.

[Ishicryptic]

I'm no longer moved by anything negative that is said about Bitcoin no matter the financial and economical intelligence of the person since Bitcoin have repeatedly proven them wrong. Some have swallowed their pride and joined the wagon, some know the truth but refuse to admit publicly while the rest are just simply ignorant, their perceptions doesn't change anything about what Bitcoin has achieved as a store of value. Boris Johnson is entitled to his own opinion about Bitcoin and it doesn't stop Bitcoin adoption, more retailers and institutions are seeing the reality of the potentials of Bitcoin to make many people very rich in the future, that is what matters.

[melinoe]

I am very disappointed that a whole former UK Prime Minister does not actually know what ponzi schemes are. Or probably he does not know what bitcoin is. But at least he should know that there is nothing hidden about bitcoin investment like Ponzi scheme.

In order to be disappointed, you have to expect something from someone, and its naive to expect that politicians know what they are talking about.

He is just bashing bitcoin because price went down, nothing else.

FUDsters gonna fud. As always.

[purple_sparkles]

I think that many politicians, including Boris Johnson, may not benefit from bitcoin being accepted at the state level. Statements like these can simply delay the moment when proper legislation for bitcoin will be developed. Where there is government regulation, there is also oversight and taxation. Many people believe that some politicians use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to hide corrupt money. Because of that, they may continue making such statements in order to protect themselves from unnecessary scrutiny of their finances.

[aoluain]

Boris Johnson? is he still relevant at all?

His statement is about 10 years out of date, he must have been getting rewarded by someone for that nonsense.

Let him tell all the institutional financiers who set up their ETF's to appeal to traditional investors? Great push back
statement from Michael Saylor

The cryptocurrency community pushed back, with Michael Saylor saying Bitcoin has no issuer, promoter, or guaranteed return, and is instead driven by code and market demand.

[SableTeacup]

Honestly, calling Bitcoin a Ponzi shows a lack of understanding of what it really is. No one is hiding anything, and there’s no central operator promising profits. It’s just a decentralized digital asset with a fixed supply that anyone can verify. That’s the opposite of a Ponzi.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Statements like these can simply delay the moment when proper legislation for bitcoin will be developed. Where there is government regulation, there is also oversight and taxation.

I thought that would be to their own benefit anyway?

Many people believe that some politicians use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to hide corrupt money. Because of that, they may continue making such statements in order to protect themselves from unnecessary scrutiny of their finances.

Yehhhh, that part too! I remember discussing on a close-related topic and I said that most financial institutions/political position holders who talk down and spread FUD like this may low-key HODL Bitcoin. It didn't occur to me that they may also be doing that with dirty money? It's good that the system is interwoven with the block chain technology, that way, nothing stays hidden forever.

Let him tell all the institutional financiers who set up their ETF's to appeal to traditional investors?

Further proves what @purple_sparkles said to be true, because they never try to.

[Silikiem]

Read about it from this news: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/03/14/boris-johnson-calling-bitcoin-a-ponzi-draws-rebuttal-from-michael-saylor-and-others

I am very disappointed that a whole former UK Prime Minister does not actually know what ponzi schemes are. Or probably he does not know what bitcoin is. But at least he should know that there is nothing hidden about bitcoin investment like Ponzi scheme.

In a ponzi scheme, investors money are used to pay earlier investors with the scheme not generating profit from any business, but the business owners will tell their investors that they are generating profit from a business which is a lie. Later the business can not go on and collapse.

Bitcoin is not like this, nothing hidden, no business but just a coin that has a store of value. Bitcoin has been existing since more than 16 years, many people have profited from it and it is still a store of value.

Personally I’m not surprised if he says bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme, that’s what we see everyday by people who don’t really understand bitcoin. There are those who thinks that bitcoin will make them rich quick and from all indications I think he’s one of those people. He might have probably delved into bitcoin thinking that he will get rich quick in bitcoin, that’s the mentality he went in with and he got disappointed at the end and start saying all sort of blah blah blah about bitcoin without knowing that he made the wrong approach toward bitcoin by thinking he will be rich over night.

[Alex077]

I am very disappointed that a whole former UK Prime Minister does not actually know what ponzi schemes are. Or probably he does not know what bitcoin is. But at least he should know that there is nothing hidden about bitcoin investment like Ponzi scheme...

To be more  precise to the original, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote in a Daily Mail column that Bitcoin is a “giant Ponzi scheme,” arguing that its price supposedly relies on a constant inflow of new investors.
Michael Saylor, a well-known Bitcoin supporter and the head of Strategy, responded to that on X and explained why this comparison doesn’t really make sense.

his main point was that a Ponzi scheme requires a central operator who promises returns and pays earlier investors with money from new ones. Bitcoin doesn’t have an issuer, promoter, or any guaranteed profits - it’s an open, decentralized monetary network that runs on code and market demand.
And honestly, it’s hard not to agree with that argument.

[Die_empty]

It carry weight since the statement coming from formerly PM of the UK but yeah bitcoin has been called a lot of things indeed and even big investing firm like JP morgan or even Michael Saylor himself was fudding bitcoin back in the days.
This is nothing but just a random statement coming from person who don't understand about technology, thats it.

His is a former prime minister with zero knowledge about Bitcoin. His example about a man in his village of Oxfordshire who lost money investing in Bitcoin is foolish. The man was simply scammed out of £500 because he wanted to double his money. The problem is that people use a single bad experience to generalise about Bitcoin. Boris Johnson would have simply read about Bitcoin instead of coming up with such a lame illustration about Bitcoin.

[ZAINmalik75]

Bitcoin is not like this, nothing hidden, no business but just a coin that has a store of value. Bitcoin has been existing since more than 16 years, many people have profited from it and it is still a store of value.

If you look at it with a neutral mind you will also say it is a Ponzi scheme, and if you are not optimistic, you will realize that too. But the real question is, is it really a Ponzi scheme? We should not care that much about what he said, but we should find the main reasons and give our proper ideas on whether he is right or wrong. How does a Ponzi scheme work and how does Bitcoin work?

Answers to such questions are going to solve the confusion thoroughly. Maybe then someone can send that post link to him so the UK prime minister would know too.

If someone bought fake gold, it does not mean gold is a scam. The first thing is, a Ponzi scheme requires a central body to control it, but Bitcoin is decentralized. It has no single issuer or promoter, and nobody is promising guaranteed returns to anyone.
He is dumb to say that, sorry but that's the truth.

[BitBakerr1]

You don’t need to be disappointed at anyone a lot of people see bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme especially those who don’t know anything about bitcoin, when you don’t know about something you’ll see it in your own way. He said what he said because he knows nothing about bitcoin I’m sure someone that knows bitcoin very well cannot say that bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme, I have a friend that once said or called bitcoin a ponzi scheme but when I told him everything about bitcoin and also ask him to do research about bitcoin by himself, that was when he knew what bitcoin was and he never called bitcoin a Ponzi scheme ever again in fact, right now he’s investing in bitcoin.

[Judith87403]

Your point is a largely valide one, yet the problem is more concerning interpretation than it is of ignorance.

Boris Johnson is making use of Ponzi in a loosed way to criticize the reliance of Bitcoin on continue demand, not in the sense of legal strictness. Real Ponzi requires a central operator and promised returns, and that is what Bitcoin lacks clearly.

Nevertheless, critics do argue that the price of Bitcoin relies on new buyers going into the market, which resembles yet is not equivalent to the structure of Ponzi.

Hence, you are factually correct, yet his comment is more of rhetorical skepticism than it is a technical definition.

[Queen uloma]

You don’t need to be disappointed at anyone a lot of people see bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme especially those who don’t know anything about bitcoin, when you don’t know about something you’ll see it in your own way. He said what he said because he knows nothing about bitcoin I’m sure someone that knows bitcoin very well cannot say that bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme, I have a friend that once said or called bitcoin a ponzi scheme but when I told him everything about bitcoin and also ask him to do research about bitcoin by himself, that was when he knew what bitcoin was and he never called bitcoin a Ponzi scheme ever again in fact, right now he’s investing in bitcoin.

A lot of people without the knowledge of bitcoin usually see bitcoin as a ponzi scheme my sister was also seeing bitcoin as a ponzi scheme some years back because he had no knowledge about bitcoin, but her husband educated her what bitcoin is all about and that was how she started investing in bitcoin, many people that are now investing in bitcoin currently, where once criticizing bitcoin, and this is normal because when you don’t have knowledge about something, you will see it as something bad it is only when you have the knowledge that you can see it as something good, even Michael Saylor once criticized bitcoin.

[Churchillvv]

Still disappointed with people’s opinion on bitcoin? Well I’m not disappointed at all because I’ve already and always been expecting politicians not to trust bitcoin or give a negative opinion about it, and since bitcoin has always been called Ponzi schemes I’m sure the prime minister is just one among many, bitcoin will still keep being an asset and a paradigm shift that most will not agree with even till death. A not everyone will like something which is fine, so don’t be disappointed instead spread what you know to counter their opinion.