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Australian Senator Gerard Rennick has attracted the ire of the Bitcoin community following his remarks referring to Bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme driven by asset managers like BlackRock, and questioning the top cryptocurrency’s value because it can’t be eaten.

Bitcoin (BTC) may be gaining momentum globally, but an Australian politician is still not sold on the asset.

“You can’t eat Bitcoin,” Senator Gerard Rennick posited in a recent post, responding to an X user who sarcastically asked for his comments after Bitcoin set a new record high of around $111,800 on May 22.

Rennick went on to lambast Bitcoin as a “Ponzi Scheme.”

“Bitcoin will ultimately go to a $1 million dollars. Why? Because it’s a Ponzi scheme whereby BlackRock will pump more and more dollars into a supply-constrained product,” the Queensland Senator said.

He also claimed that Bitcoin and its traders contribute “absolutely nothing”  in terms of real-world utility, and that Australia “needs real engineers, not financial engineers.”

Yes I do – Bitcoin will ultimately go to a $1 million dollars. Why because it’s a Ponzi scheme whereby Blackrock will pump more and more dollars into a supply constrained product.

What exactly will this product produce? Absolutely nothing and nor will the thousands of people…

Bitcoiners and industry commentators were quick to fire back at the Senator’s remarks.

The Australian Bitcoin Industry Body (ABIB) noted that Rennick’s comments about Bitcoin “reveal a deep misunderstanding,” warning that misinformed takes from public officials could lead to “bad policy.”

“This isn’t about whether Australians can use Bitcoin—we already do,” ABIB postulated. “This is about whether our government is capable of understanding how Bitcoin can enrich the nation… The door is open for ongoing education. The question is: are you willing to walk through it?”

Unchained podcast host Laura Shin asked the Senator, “You also can’t eat the internet, so do you oppose that too?”

As more X users commented, the Senator slammed critics, saying, “You’re disappointed about what a politician thinks about Bitcoin? Seriously? I thought you wanted less political interference. Why does it matter what I think? Invest as you will.”

Bitcoiners often speak out when well-known people adopt an anti-Bitcoin stance.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs was criticized by the Bitcoin community after vetoing a bill that would have allowed the state to hold Bitcoin as part of its official reserves.

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