What Is Metronome?

If there is one flaw that all cryptocurrencies share, it is how they can only be used on their own respective blockchains right now. In a way, that is only normal, but it can also be considered a hindrance. While developers could easily build on top of the same blockchain to avoid this issue, Jeff Garzik has come up with a new solution. His Metronome project will present a currency which can operate across multiple blockchains by default.

Metronome by Jeff Garzik

It takes a person with plenty of blockchain experience to know what the technology’s current shortcomings are. Jeff Garzik has been involved in the development of Bitcoin infrastructure for some time now. While he did not create Bitcoin itself, his work has been widely recognized and appreciated over the past few years. He is also the co-founder of Bloq, one of the companies active in the blockchain industry.

Garzik’s new venture will focus on something very different. The Metronome project is something a lot of people are excited about even ahead of its official debut later this week. More specifically, the Metronome project is designed in such a way as to be used across different blockchains. There is no limit as to how coins will be movable across blockchains either, as this doesn’t appear to be limited to “same model” chains whatsoever.

Even if one of the many blockchains in the cryptocurrency world were to die, the value of the associated coins wouldn’t necessarily be affected. For example, if Bitcoin Cash were to disappear altogether, its tokens could still serve as value across all other blockchains thanks to Metronome. Being able to move holdings across different chains is something that’s certainly worth exploring. That’s especially true when it comes to altcoins, as smaller chains are often subject to forks, problems, or abandoned development.

Whether or not Metronome will help institutional investors warm up to cryptocurrency remains to be seen. There is certainly reason to be excited about Metronome, though. It represents a new method of transferring value that can survive as long as there is at least one blockchain active in the world. There are thousands of blockchains out there, although not all of them have any sort of value right now. It only takes one big fight between developers and the community to damage or destroy a cryptocurrency. Preventing that from happening is a top priority for the Metronome team.

This doesn’t mean Metronome won’t have its own set of challenges to overcome in the future, though. There are no users right now, and an ICO will be hosted to raise capital and issue tokens accordingly. This proprietary approach will not necessarily entice a lot of people to use Metronome for the right reasons. Moreover, there is no actual multi-currency support built in just yet. This token will be issued on the Ethereum blockchain, which means Metronome will support ETH in at least some capacity.

On the upside, the entire Metronome concept will be open-sourced for the public to review. The auctioning of tokens will begin in December, although no specific date has yet been announced. Whether or not this new solution from Jeff Garzik will succeed in gaining traction remains a big question. There are some positive aspects of this venture to take into account, even though not everyone will see things that way.