It doesn't matter if all the activity is 100% speculative, that is still not a Ponzi scheme. Maybe you might call it a bubble, but it isn't a Ponzi scheme. In

It doesn't matter if all the activity is 100% speculative, that is still not a Ponzi scheme. Maybe you might call it a bubble, but it isn't a Ponzi scheme. In order for it to be a Ponzi scheme, speculators would have to believe they are actually investing in a business which uses their investment to generate profit, and not simply speculating against other investors. The investors must be misled about the actual source of their returns.