- The cryptocurrency space no longer has anything we can call a workable decentralized currency
- The golden age of digital currencies seems to have been the 2014-2016 era
- The crypto world has moved on from trying to create a digital currency
When the Bitcoin whitepaper was published in October 2008, the title proclaimed it to be a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system”. This set the marker for cryptocurrencies to be digital forms of payment free from authoritarian oversight, but this philosophy has changed in the 13 years since this unassuming document was published, even to Bitcoin itself. The cryptocurrency space has grown out of all anticipated proportions to engulf all areas of commerce and finance, with only one category ironically left in the dust – currencies.
The Golden Age of Currency Coins
Following the initial popularity of Bitcoin, several other currency coins were created, some of which failed and some of which survive to this day. Monero, Litecoin, XRP, Dogecoin are among the coins affectionately referred to as ‘dinosaur’ coins due to their age and the fact that all, with the exception of XRP, are based on the proof-of-work consensus algorithm.
Ever since this ‘golden age’ of digital currencies very few coins have been created with the intention of being used as a method of payment with the exception of Bitcoin Cash in 2017 (which was a fork of Bitcoin anyway), resulting in an odd situation where the cryptocurrency ecosystem simply has no workable truly decentralized currency in its midst. Bitcoin is useless without the Lightning Network, while Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Monero need a good 20-30 minutes to confirm. Dogecoin (sorry Elon) needs even longer.
Cryptocurrency Space No Longer Focused on Payment Coins
There are of course plenty of blockchains and coins out there that could function as payment coins if they wanted to, and in many cases they do – for their own network. No one is thinking about creating a digital currency anymore, at least not with any great designs on large scale global adoption. Crypto seems to have moved on from its currency roots, with the golden age of payment coins seeming to be a thing of the past, despite the technology now existing to create a payment coin that would wipe the floor with the competition.
The cryptocurrency space has produced many great things, from DeFi to NFTs, but what it still hasn’t produced is a workable cryptocurrency.
