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Crypto Leaders Push Back After Boris Johnson Calls Bitcoin a Ponzi

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Several prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry have pushed back against former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he described Bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme in a newspaper column.

Key Takeaways:

  • Boris Johnson called Bitcoin a “Ponzi scheme,” warning readers against investing in cryptocurrencies.
  • Crypto leaders including Michael Saylor, Paolo Ardoino and Adam Back quickly rejected the claim.
  • Critics argue Bitcoin lacks the central operator required for a Ponzi scheme.

Johnson, who led the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022, wrote in a Daily Mail article that he had “long suspected Bitcoin is a giant Ponzi scheme,” warning readers against putting money into digital assets.

The comments quickly drew responses from well-known voices across the crypto sector, including Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and early Bitcoin developer Adam Back.

Saylor Rejects Boris Johnson’s Bitcoin ‘Ponzi’ Claim

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Saylor rejected Johnson’s characterization in a post on X, arguing that Bitcoin does not meet the definition of a Ponzi scheme.

“A Ponzi requires a central operator promising returns and paying early investors with funds from later ones,” Saylor wrote. “Bitcoin is not a Ponzi scheme.”

Johnson’s remarks were prompted by a personal anecdote in his column. He described meeting an elderly churchgoer who had fallen into financial difficulty after purchasing Bitcoin and later sought help covering his losses.

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While acknowledging that Bitcoin operates without a central authority, Johnson argued that the cryptocurrency ultimately relies on public belief in its value.

“If people lose faith in Bitcoin, it collapses,” he wrote, adding that he fears more individuals, particularly older investors, could suffer losses tied to the asset.

The criticism was met with swift rebuttals from the crypto community. Investor and fund manager Fred Krueger responded on X by contrasting Bitcoin’s decentralized design with traditional financial institutions.

“A Ponzi usually needs a central operator, Boris,” Krueger wrote. “Bitcoin just has math.”

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Tether chief Paolo Ardoino also responded, highlighting community notes on Johnson’s post explaining why Bitcoin does not fit the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme.

Meanwhile, Adam Back, CEO of blockchain technology firm Blockstream, joined the discussion with a brief reply addressing the former prime minister by his nickname “Bozza.”

Bitcoin Ponzi Claims Resurface as Critics Renew Attacks

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Bitcoin has frequently faced accusations of resembling a Ponzi scheme from critics over the years.

Economist Nouriel Roubini has previously described cryptocurrencies as a “real-bubble Ponzi scheme,” while European Central Bank executive Fabio Panetta once compared the digital asset market to a “house of cards.”

Supporters of Bitcoin argue the comparison is flawed because the network lacks a central operator, a defining feature of classic Ponzi schemes.

Instead, they say the cryptocurrency operates as an open monetary system governed by code and market activity rather than promises of guaranteed returns.

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The post Crypto Leaders Push Back After Boris Johnson Calls Bitcoin a Ponzi appeared first on Cryptonews.

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Crypto World

Telegram Has Been Downloaded Over 50M Times in Iran, Despite Ban: Durov

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Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov

The Iranian government’s attempt to block the Telegram messaging application in the country has backfired, as users find ways to circumvent national firewalls and online controls, according to Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov.

“Iran banned Telegram years ago,” Durov said on Friday; however, tens of millions of users in the country have managed to access the application via virtual private networks (VPNs) and other similar tools, he added.

VPNs route web traffic through servers distributed around the globe to mask the true Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of users and obscure their locations. This allows individuals with VPN access to bypass national online restrictions. Durov said:

“The government hoped for mass adoption of its surveillance messaging apps, but got mass adoption of VPNs instead. Now, 50 million members of the digital resistance in Iran are joined by over 50 million more in Russia.”

Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov
Source: Pavel Durov

Decentralized technologies like blockchain, crypto and encrypted messaging applications can mitigate or neutralize state-imposed online restrictions and surveillance infrastructure, promoting individual liberty, proponents of decentralized technology say.

Related: Global turmoil pushes uptake of decentralized messengers, social media

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Users turn to decentralized alternatives amid online blackouts

The government of Iran imposed a nationwide internet blackout in January 2026, amid growing protests and civil unrest, which is still in effect due to the ongoing war between Israel, the United States and Iran.

Residents in the country can still access the internet through Starlink, a satellite-based network, or communicate via BitChat, a messaging application that uses Bluetooth radio waves to form a mesh network between devices.

BitChat’s mesh network transforms each device into a relay node that transfers data to other devices running the application within range, bypassing online and satellite-based systems entirely.

Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov
The components of the BitChat messaging application tech stack. Source: GitHub

The government of Nepal imposed a social media ban in September 2025 amid growing protests, causing a spike in BitChat downloads.

Bitchat was downloaded over 48,000 times in Nepal the week of the social media ban, and the government of Nepal was toppled by protestors that same month.

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The application recorded a similar download spike in Madagascar amid protests, which also occurred around the same time as the political revolution in Nepal.

Magazine: Did Telegram’s Pavel Durov commit a crime? Crypto lawyers weigh in