Following a model similar to the OSI model would scale perfectly, but the question is who get's to determine the specifications and how can we layer the technology in such a way that everyone's would adopt the model and work only within the scope of one's own layer. (Which would mean splitting and cutting current projects into separate development teams).

In a way the content API that XC is developing voor QI is a layered model, the bottom layer being XC and the top layer being the content. There could be a lot more layers, but it's gonna take a lot of convincing in the crypto scene to have people adhere to the specifications. Unless... XC sets the bar and develops it's own layered model.
This would require the entire framework to be readily available (thought out, programmed and documented) before other dev's would consider contributing to the overall (or just one modular layer) development.

The scene being open source, it could well be that a model like that would be adopted by the entire scene, and that's when things get really interesting, because the layers developed for one coin could be interchangeable with another (if the specifications are followed).

Im sorry for kinda hijacking the thread with this, but it's interesting to see what kind of layers we could build on top of each other.
Right now we have:

- Blockchain layer (based on Satoshi's original work) but expanded with multipath anonimity in the case of XC)
- An anonimity layer could be seperatly defined (may the best method win adoption in all coins)
- Application layers (currency / content, etc)

My programming background is (non existent ) too limited to base this on real code, but functional concepts wise it could work a little like described above