It's not a ponzi scheme, it's a socially funded blog system
- Steemit users get rewards for posting
- Steem holders/investors pay for it
IMO you are right on this one
I guess OPs problem is that the "devs" are holding the funds from what they are paying out. I see what he means by this topic, but i dont see any solution to keep the funds decentralized, since only this would resolve this problem. And this is clearly not a ponzi/ pyramid scheme.