> This is only true if we accept your unstated premise that BTC itself isn't a big ole Ponzi scheme.

Let's be clear, here: There's a substantial difference between Bitfinex engaging in outright financial fraud vs a bunch of people buying into the value of a virtual currency for reasons no one can understand.

BTC is not a ponzi. It's just a long-running speculative bubble. A collective delusion. You can disagree with that, sure, but it's certainly no more a fraud than Beanie Babies or tulip bulbs.

Sort of. There are many many people hyping Bitcoin (and various bitcoin-adjacent projects: mining rigs, wallets, dodgy unregulated exchanges, etc.), and most of them have a vested financial interest in it.

BTC didn't get to the price it is today on the backs of a few cypherpunks experimenting with decentralized digital currency technology.

> Sort of. There are many many people hyping Bitcoin (and various bitcoin-adjacent projects: mining rigs, wallets, dodgy unregulated exchanges, etc.), and most of them have a vested financial interest in it.

You've basically described commerce.

Pick a random asset class--stocks, real estate, commodities, etc--and ask yourself: are there people who are hyping that asset who have a vested financial interest in it?

The answer is almost certainly "yes" in every case.

In the less-scammy world of regulated finance, there are rules about disclosure and the SEC will come after you for running a pump-and-dump scheme.

> but it's certainly no more a fraud than Beanie Babies or tulip bulbs

Did their bubbles also last 12 years, went through multiple bear/bull markets?