Some people do like the idea of including more features in the native protocol. Projects like Zerocoin have been looking for altcurrencies to adopt their technology for making a cryptocurrency truly anonymous, and when it comes to math-based currencies, Garzik is all for diversity. He's happy to see the proliferation of other coins.

"It's a fantastically good thing," he says. "Experimentation is wonderful. It's been disappointing that the overwhelming majority of altcoins have been pump and dumps or premine-type schemes." he calls that the first generation of coins, but thinks that the landscape for altcoins is maturing.

The second generation is far more interesting, with fewer "lazy clones" and more experimentation, he argues, singling out PPCoin for its work with proof of stake, and Freicoin for its exploration of demurrage.