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Comment by jimktrains2 | Hacker News Reader

I'm still not getting why people call it a pyramid scheme. I don't make money by getting other people involved.

Sure, by getting others involved I increase the likelihood of it succeeding, but...that's everything.

If there's a fixed supply increasing demand by getting more people involved raises the price, which makes current BTC holders money.

That's true for anything though. If I convince you to get into model trains it's not because it will significantly raise the after-market value of my current (rolling) stock.

Except that model train manufacturers can raise production to maintain a price equilibrium (and have an incentive to do so, namely the profit they make from producing trains). Nobody can manufacture any more bitcoins than the algorithm allows.

Now if you convince me to get into collectible model trains, say pre-war Lionel models, the supply of which is fixed, that will raise the after-market value of your pre-war Lionel models. Whether or not that increase is significant depends on a lot of things of course.

So, you're saying all collectible markets are also ponzi schemes?

I didn't say anything was a Ponzi scheme. For starters, a Ponzi scheme involves fraud ...

Ugh, me no no wurds.

Ponzi scheme was not what I wanted to say. Pyramid scheme is what I wanted to say.

Collectible markets are not liquid and very whimsical. They are a place for rich people to show off their money, because when you have enough money, the money isn't important, it is buying something new and unique.

so you're saying that gold is a ponzi scheme ?

Gold is a lot of silly things but it's not a Ponzi scheme.

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