Economically it's much more like gold than a ponzi scheme: Gold: Asset that goes up and down in price according to demand. No central body controlling it. Some utility as jewelry though we could get by without that. Massive dollar and environmental cost from mining the stuff. Ponzi scheme: Fraud where insiders take money from investors and use it to pay other investors. Collapses and the fraudsters run off or go to jail. No mining no utility. Bitcoin: Asset that goes up and down in price according to demand. No central body controlling it. Some utility as a payments system though we could get by without that. Massive dollar and environmental cost from mining the stuff.