Advantages Of Open Source & Closed Source In Cryptocurrency
This is a series with five blog posts under the title hardware wallet versus software wallet
Open Source and Closed Source
Just like every other program or software, source codes are the building blocks of every cryptocurrency and blockchain project. Source code is a collection of commands to be compiled or assembled into executable computer software, it is a list of human-readable instructions written to tell a program how to function. Before or after the public release of cryptocurrency products, developers decide whether the code should be open source or close source. For open source code, it means the code is publicly available to anyone who wants it, and anyone can read, copy and modify the code as desired while for closed source code, access to the code for scrutiny and modification is not given to the public. The closed source code is also called proprietary code. Different projects have different approaches to how they want their source code to be handled. Let’s see a few advantages of both approaches.
Advantages of Open Source in Cryptocurrency Projects
Why is open source so vital in cryptocurrency? What are the advantages of open source code over closed source code in cryptocurrency? Here are a few examples:
- Reliability: Open source projects are more reliable because if the project’s maintainer abandons it, someone else will take over and continue to maintain it. If a closed source project is shut down, the only option is to move to an alternative.
- Security: Open source projects are more trustworthy because it is often a collaborative effort of hundreds of people, depending on the project scope. Anybody may look for backdoors, spyware, or some other malicious code in open source software. So there are probably fewer bugs and vulnerabilities due to coding errors than would otherwise exist.
- The growing interest in the project: The majority of crypto open-source project developers are inspired mainly by a desire to invest in the product they are creating. They are not working on a project for anyone else; they have a particular need and interest they are addressing, which could be to secure their investment or acquire knowledge in a particular field. This increases enthusiasm while also bringing more people to the project.
- Unlock the technology’s potential: Open source allows others to participate in the development of the technology, thereby boosting the implementation and the technology spread exponentially. Whatever the rationale, open source can certainly be an effective facilitator of ideas and further growth. Open source takes things beyond Bitcoin for blockchain, thereby providing various transactional applications and driving more interest into the crypto ecosystem.
- Decentralization: Decentralization is facilitated by open source, which means that no one central “source of truth” can be corrupted or make decisions that affect everyone.
Having listed a few of the advantages of open source software, let us look at close source as well.
Advantages of Closed Source in Cryptocurrency Projects
Closed source projects necessitate a certain level of confidence. Trust that the developer and others in the component supply chain haven’t inserted malware, trust that the product contains the security elements it claims, and trust that it can provide the security users are looking for. Despite putting such a level of faith in the unknown, this comes with some benefits. Here are a few examples of why closed source is advantageous for blockchain:
- Reducing the problem of imitators: The open source code for wallets and exchanges can be stolen and used to set up a phishing website or app. An unsuspecting visitor to the website or app can easily be deceived and duped by the imitations. While closed source software does not prevent imitations, the easy duplication of sites and programs is prevented.
- Remove the risk of Zero-Day Attacks: In zero-day attacks, the time span between exposure or notification of a previously unknown bug and fixation provides a perfect window for a hacker to exploit that vulnerability. Open source does not provide an intuitive measure for this kind of challenge but close source naturally handles this, as vulnerability and bugs are only discovered within the community of developers managing the project.
Final Thoughts
Weighing the pros and cons of both sides, we at AirGap feel strongly that open source provides more advantages to our users, especially when it comes to security, reliability, and trust. That’s why AirGap has chosen open-source for its solutions, and to combat the risk of zero Day attacks and phishing, all components of our solution always undergo multiple security audits by third parties professionals and we also encourage our users to verify our apps, thereby reducing the problem of imitators.
In cryptocurrency, open-source has been more helpful than closed source because it has facilitated cryptocurrency progress by allowing developers to re-use and build upon others people's code. Open-source is essential for cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks as this prevents the possibility of restricted functionality and regularisation by a single company and this is what decentralization is about.
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