Johnson, who led the UK from 2019 to 2022, believes Bitcoin relies on a constant influx of new buyers rather than its intrinsic value. His view stems from a personal anecdote about a villager from Oxfordshire who delivered £500 (approximately $661) to an acquaintance at a pub, promising to double it through Bitcoin. However, the villager spent three and a half years trying to recover the funds, ultimately losing around £20,000 (approximately $26,450) and struggling to pay bills. "If people lose confidence in Bitcoin, it will collapse," Johnson stated, expressing concern that more elderly investors could face similar losses as disappointment spreads.
Saylor countered on social platform X, arguing that Bitcoin does not fit the structural definition of a Ponzi scheme. He pointed out, "A Ponzi scheme requires a central operator promising returns and paying early investors with funds from later investors." He emphasized that Bitcoin has no issuer, no promoter, and no mechanism guaranteeing returns, only an open, decentralized monetary network driven by code and market demand.
Additional context on X for Johnson's post noted that Ponzi schemes promise fictitious high returns with extremely low risk, whereas Bitcoin's value is determined solely by free markets. Ardoino referenced these supplementary notes, while Back responded to Johnson with his political nickname "Bozza." BitMEX Research answered Johnson's question about a Bitcoin command chain with a simple three-word reply: "No one is in charge." Supporters of Bitcoin have consistently refuted claims that it is a Ponzi scheme, highlighting that the absence of a central operator structurally disqualifies it from such a definition.
