Bitcoin IS a “Ponzi”, but a natural-occuring Ponzi, like Gold.
There's no such thing as a natural-occuring ponzi.
Something is a ponzi or it isn't. Neither gold and bitcoin are ponzis as there are no promised returns from (the) creators.
That’s why it’s called a “natural-occuring” Ponzi, not an overt Ponzi. That’s how Bitcoin started to have surging value, as a “Ponzi”. For it to pay profit to a holder for higher value, newer investors must enter the system and buy them from those holders. BUT, like Gold, it stopped being a “Ponzi” when it was started to be used as currency in the dark markets, creating a circular economy.