How can you tell if you are the holder of a legitimate market product or a ponzi/pyramid-like product? It's simple. The life cycle of a legitimate market product has three phases. The creation phase, the circulation phase, and the utilization or liquidation phase. The life cycle of a ponzi/pyramid-like product has only two phases. The creation phase and the circulation phase. Let's start with the legitimate products.

Suppose that you bought an iPhone because you think it is cheap and you can sell it for a higher price in the future. That's the circulation phase of the iPhone. Once you sell it to someone, and that person starts to actually use it for its purpose(calls, texting...), iPhone is in utilization phase. Here we need to mention, that it is this phase where the value of the iPhone actually comes from. Meaning, the utilization of a product is the value of the product. When Apple was producing iPhone that was its creation phase. So the concept of phases in the life cycle of a product is pretty straightforward.

Market products such as dollars or bonds also have three phases. It is just that instead of utilization phase, they have the liquidation phase. Given that both dollars and bonds are debt based products, they operate similarly in the phases, the only difference being that dollar issuers(banks and borrowers) borrow and return goods and services from/to the public, while bond issuers borrow and return money. When corporations issue bonds and banks new units of dollars via loans, this is the creation phase of these products. Once they are created, the products enter the circulation phase. At the beginning of this phase, the corporations borrow money, while borrowers borrow goods and services from the public. Finally, the liquidation phase occurs when the corporations return money to the bondholders by paying principle, and when the borrowers return goods and services to dollar holders by making the loan payments. Namely, prior to loan payments, borrowers obviously had to give (trade) goods and services to dollar holders in order to get funds for these repayments. This is how the last dollar holders receive goods and services from the borrowers prior to liquidation. After dollars are liquidated, that is, withdrawn from circulation, they are again put into circulation with new loans. With loan repayments they are again liquidated and so on. So, dollars are in constant cycles of creation(loans), circulation(means of exchange) and liquidation (loan repayments). Hence, the three phases. And the same as with iPhone or bonds it is the third phase where the value of this product actually comes from. This is of course because the liquidation is where the last dollar holders receive goods and services from the borrowers, or from the taxpayers if the borrower is government.

Now that we know the phases in the life cycle of legitimate market products, we can examine the illegitimate products. Let's say that you bought membership in a ponzi scheme. This is the circulation phase of that product. The creation phase was obviously when the scheme organizers issued this product. But, unlike in the above cases, these issuers never liquidate this product to pay money, goods or services to its holders, nor is this product utilizable like iPhone. Meaning, this product lacks the third phase, and as such, it is in an infinite circulation phase. In this phase, more recent investors bring in the three-phased market products and trade them for your two-phased product(membership). Once the scheme collapses, you, as the last membership holder, are left with nothing since no third phase exists in which the value is paid or received.

Bitcoin has exactly the same features. It is a two-phased product. Its issuing is phase one. Its circulation in the market is phase two. But given that its issuers never liquidate it to pay money, goods or services to its holders, nor is Bitcoin utilizable like iPhone, this product lacks the third phase. As such, it has ponzi/pyramid-like features. Meaning, once you as an investor, brought in the three-phased market products, you are left only with hope that new investors will trade their three-phased products for your two-phased bitcoin so that you can get value in the third phase of these products. Once new investors stop investing, the scheme falls apart and you are left with nothing expect the digital record of membership.