I have to laugh when some banker or government employee says crypto currencies are ponzi schemes. They accuse cryptos of being created out of thin air. Oh really? When you use a credit card don't you create money? You pay for something with money out of thin air and owe it to a bank that has to have some small percentage of that newly created money on reserve. The FED creates money all the time. They buy Treasuries from banks and give the banks money credits that pop into existence out of this air. The banks buy the Treasuries from the government which promises to pay back those obligations. When Treasuries are issued to pay off existing government debt, the bigger fool, new buyer, takes out the position of the former fool . What's real about a US dollar? It's a piece of paper to which masses ascribe value. Crypto currency creators are simply mimicking banks and governments. That's why governments don't like cryptos. Private parties are taking a piece of their action.