Re:Show HN: Dogecoin Average - the price of Doge
by DennisP on Wednesday January 22, 2014 @01:35PM
(#7104456)
Yes, the big question is whether currency has such a strong network effect that one will dominate. Hayek argued the opposite, and wrote a book claiming that a system of competing private currencies would be ideal.
There are also a few technical arguments in favor of multiple currencies. At the moment we don't know how to scale a single blockchain to major-currency levels, unless we do mostly off-chain transactions. And with appropriate software, accepting lots of currencies doesn't have to be harder for a merchant than accepting one. There's also some work on cross-chain currency trading without a trusted intermediary.
There are also a few technical arguments in favor of multiple currencies. At the moment we don't know how to scale a single blockchain to major-currency levels, unless we do mostly off-chain transactions. And with appropriate software, accepting lots of currencies doesn't have to be harder for a merchant than accepting one. There's also some work on cross-chain currency trading without a trusted intermediary.