How Bitcoin Became the World’s Largest Pyramid Scheme and Why We Need EarthBucks

Bitcoin became a pyramid scheme when Satoshi Nakamoto added the 1 MB maximum block size in late 2010. Before that, Bitcoin had the potential to become a global electronic cash system. But when the max block size was added, it removed all potential use cases and became nothing more than a giant pyramid scheme. I worked on removing the max block size for a long time, but I no longer see that as a realistic possibility. The only resolution I see now is to create a new blockchain from scratch that salvages the good ideas from Bitcoin but starts over completely with the mining incentives. That blockchain is EarthBucks.

The Max Block Size

I started EarthBucks in March of 2024 when it became clear that there was no realistic way to fix Bitcoin. Over time, not only has the max block size not been removed, but the entire ecosystem around Bitcoin has cemented the max block size in place. The longer we go without removing the max block size, the harder it becomes to remove it. Anybody who suggests removing the max block size gets viciously attacked by Bitcoin supporters. The incentives of Bitcoin no longer align with fixing Bitcoin. This is a fatal flaw.

Fixing Bitcoin: Taking Good Ideas and Fixing the Flaws

What is needed is a new blockchain that salvages Bitcoin’s best ideas but with no flaws. The best ideas are the fixed total amount (21 million for Bitcoin, 42 million for EarthBucks), the distribution schedule with a 4-year halving, the structure of transactions with multiple inputs and outputs and a FORTH-like scripting language, the Merkle tree structure with chronologically ordered transactions, and a proof-of-work block header. All that, but none of the flaws or baggage. It must be a totally new chain written from scratch. That is EarthBucks.

EarthBucks is Baggage-Free and Modern

EarthBucks is a from-scratch new blockchain with 42 million EBX, mined on consumer GPUs by ordinary people, sharing a transaction structure and block structure in common with Bitcoin, and a 4-year halving. EarthBucks has no IP copied from Bitcoin. None of the software, protocols, or trademarks are carried over. EarthBucks is completely new. Not only does EarthBucks lack any of the Bitcoin baggage, but it uses a completely modern technology stack co-implemented in TypeScript and Rust and deployed on modern cloud systems that scale to unlimited size. EarthBucks is designed from Day 1 to be a global electronic cash system for everybody on Planet Earth (with no max block size, of course).

Conclusion

A pyramid scheme is when a financial asset has no use case other than investors putting their money into it. All pyramid schemes inevitably collapse. Sadly, Bitcoin became a pyramid scheme in late 2010 when Satoshi Nakamoto added the max block size into the protocol and then left. Because the community has long rejected removing the max block size, it is almost impossible to remove it now. The only realistic hope is to launch a new blockchain that has the good ideas of Bitcoin, such as fixed supply, but that lacks a max block size and fixes all the other issues with Bitcoin, with a totally new brand, starting over from scratch, free from baggage, and all the opportunity in the world ahead of us. That blockchain is EarthBucks.