I think a lot of people saw The Wizard of Lies and "Ponzi scheme" is the only financial scheme they're familiar with, so it gets thrown around a LOT.
But yeah let's keep arguing over semantic definitions.
This whole thread looks like someone saying "No, a boat is not a car" and the other going "but it does have an engine, right? It's a car. Let's not argue semantics"
Usually the go-to lazy catchphrase is "we're just arguing semantics!" but "semantic definitions" is new.
These coins are ponzi-like in that only the earliest of adopters have any chance and only if they know enough to get currency out without hitting an inflection point that brings down the whole thing. But that’s where the similarity ends - the mechanism is different, they don’t operate like a Bernie Madoff and they’re honest about the whole process.
This is something else and while it’s Ponzi-like, it’s a different beast. I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with expanding the definition of Ponzi scheme for now, just so we have something to educate some irrationally exuberant retail investors…