>Timestamps for subsequent blocks indicate that Nakamoto did not try to mine all the early blocks solely for themselves in an effort to benefit from a Ponzi scheme.

But they could have.

>The public bitcoin transaction log shows that Nakamoto's known addresses contain roughly one million bitcoins. As of 7 February 2017, this is the equivalent of over US$1 billion.

Starting your own cryptocurrency doesn't seem like a bad way to make a buck (particularly provided it becomes as successful as bitcoin), all thanks (eventually) to "the biggest names in finance and technology".

Granted, there's a strong difference between "potential scam" and "scam" (hell, it's the difference between Torcoin and every legitimate, well-regulated non-crypto currency).