Bitcoin pioneer and Blockstream CEO Adam Back has suggested Ethereum and Ripple are akin to Ponzi schemes. 

Ethereum and Ripple are Ponzi schemes?

In a Twitter tirade, Back compared Bitconnect, Ethereum, Onecoin, Cardano, Ripple, Stellar, to Charles Ponzi, Bernie Madoff, and ‘Dan Larmer’. 

Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff are infamous for running massive Ponzi-schemes, while Bitconnect and OneCoin were dramatically revealed to be nothing more than Ponzi scams, and ‘Dan Larmer’ was likely a typo, with Back meaning ‘Dan Larimer’ – creator of Bitshares and Steem. 

Back was in a conversation with journalist Layah Heilpern when he took the dramatic swipe at Ethereum and Ripple. When she asked if Ethereum added any value to the ecosystem, or if it was another scam, Back said:

“Well, 70% pre-mined says it all. Which would you say is a bigger scam, Ripple or Ethereum.”

Bitconnect, Charles Ponzi, ethereum, onecoin, Cardano, ripple, Bernie Madoff, stellar, Dan Larmer. All looking very similar grade to me.

— Adam Back (@adam3us) August 5, 2020

Bitcoin vs Ethereum 2.0

A harsh critic of Ethereum for some time, last November Back compared Ethereum to Theranos – a biotech firm which collapsed after overselling its capabilities, and effectively pitching a product that didn’t exist.

Of course, many will argue that, given Back’s undoubted loyalty to Bitcoin (BTC), his attack on Ethereum is a response to the rapid rise in its price this month, fuelled by excitement over the long-awaited first phase of ETH 2.0, and its shift to proof-of-stake consensus – which will, if successful, enable Ethereum to leave Bitcoin in the dust when it comes to transaction processing capabilities. 

And, inevitably, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin returned a broadside to Back, dismissing his comments as “tired old propaganda.”

Reciting tired old propaganda is becoming less and less effective every day. Ethereum is rising, proof of stake and sharding are rising, and rollups are here, all through a large distributed ecosystem working in parallel. The tides of history will not be favorable to maximalism. https://t.co/PZ11XR2Pre

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 6, 2020

As previously reported, in June Back joined other crypto heavyweights in predicting Bitcoin was set for a major bull run, arguing that the unlimited money printing we are now seeing, as governments respond to the COVID-19 lockdown-triggered economic crisis, will push retail investors to the original cryptocurrency. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Perhaps at this point it’s good to remember that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are perfectly able to co-exist and have distinctly different strengths and weaknesses. It seems a given that, if ETH 2.0 is successful, much of the DeFi ecosystem will end up depending on it. However, many would argue, for a long-term gold alternative, BTC is still unrivaled. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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