He proposes an alternative to address the issue of dust in cryptocurrency transactions. James suggests that wallets could automatically propose rounding up dust to the recipient instead of generating a change output, which would not require any changes to the protocol. He posits that the accumulation of dust can be seen as a "tragedy of the commons," where wallets leave small amounts of value that cause bloat in the blockchain without benefiting anyone. James is seeking advice on this matter as he aims to deepen his understanding of the field and is looking for a niche area to focus on to grow his initial knowledge.