[jotux]

Private currencies were local to small areas and national currencies were created to consolidate control and distribution to citizens -- making transactions easier between states, controlling inflation, etc. Why not look at bitcoin as the next step: a means to globalize currency and facilitate international economic growth.

[crazy1van]

Interesting point. Seems like a single currency would make transactions more efficient. That's why the EU did it, right? The problem becomes who controls it. You'll have some nations who want to inflate it. Others who won't. Eventually the system breaks down. That's where I see bitcoin as having an advantage. Everyone knows from the beginning the currency's inflation trajectory.

[asfapifb]

This sounds like a good idea but it isn't (for now). Look up "Currency Areas". There are several economic factors that are essential to make a single currency successful. One of the downsides of a global currency is that if someone is indebted to someone else, they can't print money until the debt is paid. Not only that, but it creates issues when labor forces aren't liquid geographically and trade isn't free between places. The value of the currency will start to benefit some economies at the expense of others, leading to inescapable stagnation (this is one of Greece's problems).

FWIW many economists were skeptical of the Euro zone because it failed to satisfy some of the criteria of a currency area. This resulted in problems for some of its members following the 2008 crisis.