NEM coin would seem to be a partial solution... it takes away the power of early adopters and the bitcoin millionaires, huge mining operators, and the rich in general and distributes the coin in a more even manner. Bitcoin is still far too concentrated seeing all these wallets with more than 10K bitcoin in them there is a small number of people who got obscenely wealthy from it. Good for them.. wish I had heard of bitcoin back on 2011.
In any case I'm backing a coin that I have a vested interest in obviously... the answer to this ponzi scheme thing would be the ultra wealthy distributing these massive number of bitcoins in giveaway threads of course that would take a generosity of spirit that even I admit I would not have was I an early adopter. I'd be slowly spending my bitcoins out in small increments on this and that.
Lots of 'investments' or 'commodities' could be called pyramid schemes. Anybody guilty of pumping gold, silver, or any asset in an attempt to get others interested is ultimately promoting their investment in a way that they want others to invest to 'drive up the price' which is a pyramid scheme. This would also include the stock market, collectables, anything with a fixed supply and increasing demand.
If you bitcoin millionaires were smart you'd be taking your bitcoin and buying all the platinum, palladium, and rhodium you can get your hands on.
Why? Russia stockpiles of palladium are gone. South African mines continue to have labor problems. Demand for auto catalysts will continue to increase, and the supply will remain tight for the foreseeable future.