Bitcoin is used to being called names by the most diverse personalities. Central bankers, Nobel Prize winners in economics, heads of state: everyone used their own little murderous phrase. This time, it is a former tenant of 10 Downing Street who is stepping up to the plate. Boris Johnson takes out his pen to curtail the queen of cryptos. But the attack could well turn against its author.
In brief
- Boris Johnson called bitcoin a Ponzi scheme in a Daily Mail column shared on X.
- The former Prime Minister draws on the story of a friend who lost 20,000 pounds in a crypto scam.
- Michael Saylor responded that bitcoin has no issuer, promoter, or guaranteed return unlike Ponzis.
- However, the Johnson administration laid the foundations for British crypto regulation between 2019 and 2022.
BoJo's attack: a friend, a pub and 20,000 pounds lost
Bitcoin news: it all starts in an English village, precisely near the church attended by the former Prime Minister. A retired friend, a visibly naive former businessman, meets a stranger in a pub on an ordinary evening. The man he meets then promises him wonders with disconcerting confidence. He claims he can double his money quickly thanks to bitcoin, without any risk.
The potential victim first coughs up 500 pounds, lured by the tempting prospect. Then she pays additional fees for three and a half long years. Ultimately, 20,000 pounds evaporate into nature, leaving a bitter taste.
Johnson tells this uplifting story in the Daily Mailthen balance it on X:
I have long suspected that Bitcoin is a vast Ponzi scheme and now I hear tragic stories that make me fear I may be right.
To drive the point home, the former Downing Street tenant compares the digital asset to Pokémon cards. These little Japanese monsters have thirty years of history and a very tangible cultural appeal, he explains. Bitcoin? “Ijust a string of numbers stored in a series of computers “.
The provocation is launched, and it will cause an entire industry to react.
The crypto industry's united response to former Prime Minister's accusations
Michael Saylor does not let this attack pass without reacting with the greatest possible firmness. The boss of Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, answers point by point in a scathing tweet.
Bitcoin is not a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi requires a central operator promising returns and paying early investors with funds from subsequent investors. Bitcoin has no issuer, no promoter, no guaranteed returns – just an open, decentralized monetary network, driven by code and market demand.
Michael Saylor
The definition is clear, technical and perfectly unstoppable for bitcoin defenders. Other voices quickly rose to contradict the former tenant of 10 Downing Street.
Pierre Rochard, of The Bitcoin Bond Company, turns the argument on its head with an elegant provocation. The UK is a giant debt-financed Ponzi scheme, he says without hesitation.
Kwasi Kwarteng, former Chancellor of Johnson, compares bitcoin to the internet with certain relevance. No one calls the web a pyramid, he rightly points out in his response.
Paolo Ardoino highlights X's community notes, which clearly explain why bitcoin is not a Ponzi. Industry legend Adam Back responds simply with the affectionate nickname “Bozza” on the social network.
The Johnson paradox: the one who criticizes bitcoin is the one who opened the door
Let's go back a few years to appreciate the irony of the current situation. Between 2019 and 2022, Boris Johnson serves as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom with a comfortable majority. His Chancellor of the Exchequer is called Rishi Sunak, and the latter has a clearly stated ambition. He wants to make London a global crypto hub, a stronghold for this emerging industry.
It was under Johnson that the FCA began to methodically structure the regulation of digital assets. It is under him that stablecoins are recognized as potential means of payment by the government. The Johnson government is laying the foundations that its successors will patiently build year after year.
Today, bitcoin ETFs are approved in London, and regulation is progressing steadily. Kwasi Kwarteng, his former colleague who became a defender of bitcoin, offers him a friendly bridge: “We'll talk about this over lunch next week and I'll have you converted in no time “.
The contradiction is enormous, almost laughable for informed observers of the sector. Johnson helped create the framework that protects UK investors today.
The BoJo media storm in key figures
- 20,000 pounds: the amount Johnson's friend allegedly lost in a crypto scam;
- $71,656: the price of BTC at the time of writing this article;
- 3.5 years: the length of time the victim paid fees without recovering their funds;
- 30 years: the age of Pokémon cards, according to Johnson's argument;
- 0 issuer: the number of central authorities behind the bitcoin protocol, according to Michael Saylor.
At BoJo, it is perhaps a Ponzi scheme that we should seriously look for rather than decentralized bitcoin. But for millions of investors, institutions and individuals alike, no turning back is now conceivable. Bitcoin spot ETFs just recorded five days of consecutive inflows, a sign that the market is moving inexorably forward.
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