A Ponzi scheme styled after MMM is driving Ethereum network congestion

Ethereum is currently undergoing a period of heightened network congestion, in part due to the rising popularity of an MMM-branded Ponzi scheme.

The activity can be traced to MMM BSC, styled after Sergei Mavrodi's MMM enterprise which raised hundreds of millions of dollars in the 1990s in return for empty promises of high-yield returns. MMM Ponzi schemes have persisted since Mavrodi's death, including BSC  which utilizes Paxos' PAX USD token (Paxos, for its part, has strongly disavowed any affiliation with the scheme).