Boris Johnson attacks bitcoin and triggers a wave of reactions

Bitcoin is used to being called all sorts of names by various personalities. Central bankers, Nobel laureates in economics, heads of state: everyone has made their own sharp remarks. This time, it’s a former occupant of 10 Downing Street stepping up. Boris Johnson picks up his pen to lash out at the queen of cryptos. But the attack may well backfire on its author.

BoJo’s attack: a friend, a pub and 20,000 pounds vanished

The Bitcoin news: it all begins in an English village, precisely near the church attended by the former Prime Minister. A retired friend, a former businessman visibly naive, meets a stranger in a pub one ordinary evening. The man he meets then promises him the moon and stars with disarming confidence. He claims to be able to double his money quickly thanks to bitcoin, without any risk.

The potential victim first coughs up 500 pounds, seduced by the enticing prospect. Then she pays additional fees for three long and a half years. In the end, 20,000 pounds evaporate into thin air, leaving a bitter taste. 

Johnson tells this edifying story in the Daily Mail, then shares it on X: 

I’ve long suspected that Bitcoin is a vast Ponzi scheme and now I hear tragic stories that make me fear I might be right. 

To drive the point home, the former occupant of Downing Street compares the digital asset to Pokémon cards. These little Japanese monsters have thirty years of history and a tangible cultural appeal, he explains. Bitcoin? “Just a chain of numbers stored in a series of computers“. 

The provocation is launched, and it will provoke the entire industry.

The united response of the crypto industry to the former Prime Minister’s accusations

Michael Saylor does not let this attack go by without reacting as firmly as possible. The head of Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, responds point by point in a cutting tweet. 

Bitcoin is not a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi requires a central operator promising returns and paying early investors with the funds of later ones. Bitcoin has no issuer, no promoter, no guaranteed return – just an open and decentralized monetary network, driven by code and market demand.

Michael Saylor

The definition is clear, technical, and perfectly unassailable for bitcoin defenders. Other voices quickly rise to contradict the former occupant of 10 Downing Street. 

Pierre Rochard, from The Bitcoin Bond Company, turns the argument around with a graceful provocation. The United Kingdom is a giant Ponzi scheme funded by debt, he states without hesitation. 

Kwasi Kwarteng, Johnson’s former Chancellor, compares bitcoin to the internet with certain relevance. No one calls the web a pyramid, he rightly recalls in his reply. 

Paolo Ardoino highlights X’s community notes, which clearly explain why bitcoin is not a Ponzi. Adam Back, a legend of the sector, simply replies 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 gauge the full irony of the current situation. Between 2019 and 2022, Boris Johnson held the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom with a comfortable majority. His Chancellor of the Exchequer was Rishi Sunak, who has clearly stated ambitions. 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 was under him that stablecoins were recognized as potential means of payment by the government. The Johnson government laid the foundations that his successors would patiently build on year after year. 

Today, bitcoin ETFs are approved in London, and regulation is progressing steadily. Kwasi Kwarteng, his former collaborator turned bitcoin advocate, extends a friendly bridge: “We will talk about this over lunch next week, and I’ll have you converted in no time“.

The contradiction is huge, almost laughable to seasoned observers of the sector. Johnson helped create the framework that now protects British investors.

The BoJo media storm in key figures

• 20,000 pounds: the amount Johnson’s friend supposedly lost in a crypto scam;
• 71,656 dollars: the BTC price at the time this article was written;
• 3.5 years: the duration during which the victim paid fees without recovering their funds;
• 30 years: the age of Pokémon cards, according to Johnson’s argument;
• 0 issuers: the number of central authorities behind the bitcoin protocol, according to Michael Saylor.

For BoJo, it might be a Ponzi scheme that needs serious investigation rather than decentralized bitcoin. But for millions of investors, both institutional and individual, no turning back is now conceivable. Spot bitcoin ETFs have just recorded five consecutive days of inflows, a sign that the market is moving inexorably forward.