Blockchain’s Open-Source Benefits
Open-source software is a mindset and distribution method rather than a pricing mechanism. During the 1980s, as personal computers became available, early developers had little incentive to write code for free. Then, in the 1990s, entrepreneurs saw profit opportunities in proprietary software as the Internet expanded. Netscape, for example, was one of the pioneers in proprietary web browser development. However, their business model stagnated as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer became popular. The Netscape browser eventually morphed into the now open-source Firefox.
Fortunately, development has shifted to open-source projects with more transparency, collaboration, consensus-based decisions, and community orientation. For example, two open-source projects, Linux and the Apache Software Foundation’s web server, have contributed a profound positive impact on IT’s advancement. Perhaps even more significant is the impact of blockchain’s Bitcoin and Ethereum. Being free and open-source, anyone can modify Bitcoin’s code to create new cryptocurrencies. Also, smart contracts on the Ethereum chain are readily available for inspection.
The camaraderie and communication among developers and would-be developers are driving forces behind the success of blockchain. Blockchain technologies are still nascent relative to their overall potential, yet GitHub abounds with open-source blockchain projects. It only takes a few minutes on Discord or Twitter to find numerous blockchain projects whose teams have open arms to potential contributors. YouTube has thousands of clips related to blockchain development. While Amazon has a few books on blockchain development, most are dated since technology advances rapidly.
Being open-source doesn’t necessarily remove profit potential. For example, many business models, such as Red Hat, provide support services for open-source software. Also, the Linux Foundation has developed several open-source, enterprise-grade Hyperledger blockchain products. One can confidently state that blockchain’s development and adoption would not be as successful if its underlying software were proprietary.
