I'd definitely call any cryptocurrency a pyramid scheme. A few whales at the top hold the majority of the value. They trade between themselves to simulate market activity, but their value only comes from others buying in. The currency doesn't achieve any actual promises, so the only way those early adopters see any value is if more buy in. At each stage the pool becomes larger for a smaller share of the asset and profit.

They all have the exact same culture and rhetoric of any mid-level marketing company. That's the model driving it to attract the same kind of person with the same promise.

I’m pretty sure the history of money and bank notes is full of people doing similar things with bitcoin. We’re just used to a relatively mature banking industry that only operates scams through dozens of layers of indirection.

Idk it sounds similar to Dutch Tulip bubble.