Except that pyramid schemes are usually designed from the start as such. Bitcoin wasn't: it was designed in good faith as a cryptocurrency. That people ended u

Except that pyramid schemes are usually designed from the start as such. Bitcoin wasn't: it was designed in good faith as a cryptocurrency. That people ended up using it as a speculative device says more about these people than the actual technology. Also pyramid schemes are usually run by few people that cash out when it is no longer sustainable. Once it is so, it's over, as it usually the scheme gets exposed and owners lose all credibility. Bitcoin on the other hand went already through several "crises", and came out even stronger. Also, in the case of Bitcoins, as more people buy them, and original owners cash out, the amount of actual owners dilute, so that the possibility of a few people dictating huge movements in price lessens over time. Calling it a pyramid scheme it is an oversimplification, although on the surface it shares many traits with them: I don't think many people can predict how it will turn out.