Is crypto a ponzi scheme?

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Today I had an argument, more like a debate with a friend of mine. At first we were talking about Nigeria lifting the ban on Twitter, which I think is a just a plot to try and get Nigerians back on their side seeing as election is getting closer. Anyway I couldn't care less since I have gotten used to using VPN. And besides, I've not really been active on Twitter since I joined hive.

Anyway, the discussion continued and I said who knows maybe the government may lift their supposed ban on cryptocurrencies. He said to him the banning of cryptocurrency wasn't such a bad idea.

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What? I looked at him in disbelief, like seriously? Obviously I had to ask him why he thought like this.

He said cryptocurrency is a scam. I looked at him with even more disbelief, and asked him to explain why he felt that way.

He said it was a ponzi scheme, that there is no wealth generated, that the value is only based on demand, and that all the profits being made is simply the money from the new holders, that is why crypto holders are always looking for new people to invest in cryptocurrency. He said one day there will be no buyers and the value will collapse (I was doing my best not to laugh when he said this).

We had a back and forth for a while and I realized it wasn't going anywhere so I ended the discussion.

Basically, I told him that not every cryptocurrency is a ponzi scheme, and that there are a lot of cryptocurrency with good fundamentals that I doubt will be crashing anytime soon. Then to tackle him when he said the value was only based on demand. I asked him why the value of naira was decreasing. Isn't the value of anything based on the demand for that thing and the available supply as well.

I feel a good crypto project is even better than fiat as it is decentralized and open source meaning no one can control it and every one can see all transactions being made. Fiat money on the other hand is controlled by the government and banks who can easily manipulate distribution and supply for their benefit.

I was actually trying to tell him about hive initially, but seeing how he felt about crypto I decided against it. If there's one thing this encounter has thought me it's that there's still people who either don't know about crypto or have been mislead or misinformed and think that crypto is a scam. I get that some feel it's too risky, or it's too complicated, or just don't trust online stuff, but to think crypto is a scam is just hilarious.

I'll back off from him concerning anything crypto related for now because he doesn't seem interested. But who knows when the time comes and there's a surge of some sort he'll probably come asking me to teach him, and I'll gladly do. Or he won't come, fine by me.

I'm sure you know where I stand in this debate, but still I'd like to know what you think, is crypto a ponzi scheme?

N/B:I'm more or less still an amateur when it comes to crypto, so feel free to correct me if I've made any mistakes