Boris Johnson calling Bitcoin a ponzi scheme

[MinoRaiola]

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.

In Germany, the pension system is a classic Ponzi scheme. The worst part is that its backed by the government, and any deficits are covered by taxpayers. So in the end, no one can do anything about it. Boris Johnson should bet against Germany, but I dont think he win, because they just keep racking up more debt. It is a system that shouldnt exist anymore, but it is too big to fail, so they just let people keep paying.

[Renampun]

I understand that some people are so stupid that they can't differentiate between a ponzi scheme or not, they don't have good knowledge about it but they still comment as if they understand everything. it's already 2026 and I think that the narrative of bitcoin being a ponzi scheme is outdated, the people who used to say that have even forgotten about it and prefer to focus on whatever they do.. but on the other hand there are stupid people who still believe in it and that's how stupid they are.

[NotATether]

I don't care about Boris Johnson's opinion about Bitcoin.

End

[Nothingtodo]

No matter how ugly Boris Johnson makes comments about Bitcoin, it will not be able to disturb the concentration of those who are Bitcoin investors. Because since the birth of Bitcoin, hundreds of people like Boris Johnson have tried to scam Bitcoin in various ways. But every time their attempts have failed and they are still trying different ways in this case, they are failing. However, no matter how much they make critical comments about Bitcoin, it will not harm Bitcoin, rather Bitcoin's popularity is constantly increasing. So now those who are opposing Bitcoin have never supported Bitcoin, so their support does not seem to be needed much in Bitcoin.

[Franctoshi]

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.

When you see such people come out to do such statement about Bitcoin I view what they're saying in its opposite meaning, sometimes this statement said by these prominent people are sometimes are targeted to manipulate the minds and discourage investors from buying Bitcoin while sometimes these people are secretly accumulating BTC, while later in the future you will hear them say I own some Bitcoin and you would like ask when did they buy their Bitcoin. With the knowledge I have now regarding Bitcoin, I can't be fooled by their words.

[EFS]

It seems like Boris Johnson is stuck 10 years in the past. Back then it was trendy to call Bitcoin a ponzi scheme. I haven't heard a well-known figure make such a statement in a long time. He's quite late to be making a comment like this. If his goal was to get attention, it looks like he's succeeded. Look, what he said has made its way onto the forum and people are commenting on it. The best thing to do is just ignore him.

[CryptoYar]

[...]

These old style attacks are only mostly used by many politicians in hope to get news and excited crypto people but research shows that most of leaders are moving towards being on side of digital money to get young voters.

I also think it is better to ignore such talk since Bitcoin is already at point where it does not need approval of old politicians to do well. System continues to work perfectly no matter what their comments. So, it is no harm to Bitcoin to make such claims, it just makes whoever makestalk to appear out of date with the times.

[sana54210]

Boris Johnson, famous for amazing predictions and great work that he has done, calls bitcoin a scheme... That's a great joke for sure. This is why I do not like it when people who have no idea about the subject or worked on it end up saying something about it. But because he is a famous person, we hear it as a news, and not sure if he would convince anyone to not get it, but it's clear that we should not really consider him as someone who knows what they are talking about, that's not what it's going to be like.

We should avoid it as much as we possibly could, because these people have no idea what they are saying. Understanding what bitcoin is and what may happen is not a day worths job, it takes months to years.

[Lida93]

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.

What we should be asking the former Prime Minister is how this long has any Ponzi Scheme lasted in more than a decade to the extend that it continue gaining adoption not just only by retailers but by institutions and governments.

The man's sense of judgement may be blinded by his hatred for bitcoin or I could agree with EFS that he's probably "stuck 10 years, in the past",  or just want to go mainstream using a talk down on bitcoin as means.

[The Cryptovator]

Who cares if a stupid call Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme? He doesn't know how a Ponzi scheme works and how Bitcoin works. I called him stupid because without knowing the reality he called Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme. If someone doesn't know about Bitcoin technology nowadays when everything is available over the internet, then it's not our fault. We aren't to convince him; let him think whatever he wants to think.

A lot of people predict Bitcoin will become zero. But does it happen? No, it will never happen ever as long as the Bitcoin community is alive. They are blaming Bitcoin because they missed the earlier train and don't want to get on the next train. Ultimately they will regret it forever, and others will make money by believing in Bitcoin. Let them spread negativity; it's also a kind of marketing.

[HelliumZ]

Bitcoin is so popular because people like Boris Johnson, Peter Schiff, Warren Buffett are criticizing Bitcoin in the world. If there were no criticism from them, maybe Bitcoin would have only been popular in the world, there would have been no criticism. Again, Bitcoin is so valuable because popular people like Michael Saylor have a favorite of Bitcoin. That is, there will always be anti-Bitcoin groups and pro-Bitcoin groups. If there were no criticism, the discussion would not have been important, that is, if there was criticism, it would definitely create value in the market.

[dkbit98]

Clown Boris Johnson is not being taken seriously by anyone, and he doesn't even know how real ponzi schemes are working.
I never heard any ponzi scheme to be online 99.95% of the time since 2009, with none of Satoshi coin being sold or moved.
If that is a ponzi than this must be the worse ponzi in the world ever.

[L E G E N D A R Y]

I don't care about Boris Johnson's opinion about Bitcoin.

End

Period

It’d be more of a topic if Satoshi Nakamoto himself would call Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme.
Like really, anyone is allowed to air their opinion about Bitcoin, but the best part of it is their that’s all it is, their opinion, and that doesn’t affect or change anything about Bitcoin.

[DonaldCryptoTalk1]

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.

I think the issue here is more about misunderstanding than outright ignorance. When people like Boris Johnson call Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme, they’re usually focusing on price speculation rather than the structure itself.

A Ponzi scheme, depends on a central operator who uses new investors’ funds to pay older ones, with false promises of guaranteed returns. Bitcoin clearly doesn’t fit this model, there’s no central authority, no guaranteed profit, and everything is transparent on the blockchain.

That said, I think where critics are coming from is the fact that many people enter Bitcoin expecting profits, and early adopters benefited massively compared to late entrants. This can look similar to a Ponzi on the surface, but the key difference is that Bitcoin doesn’t promise returns and doesn’t rely on deception to function.

Also, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin’s value is driven by market demand, scarcity, and network effects, not by redistributing funds through a central entity. That aligns it more with a speculative asset or digital commodity than any fraudulent scheme.

Even Michael Saylor and others defending Bitcoin have emphasized this point repeatedly: misunderstanding the technology often leads to mislabeling it.

In my opinion, statements like this show that even high profile figures can oversimplify complex innovations. Criticism is fine, but it should at least be technically accurate.