Open Source vs. Source-Available: What the Coldcard Failure Teaches About Bitcoin Software Incentives

Bitcoin Magazine Open Source vs. Source-Available: What the Coldcard Failure Teaches About Bitcoin Software Incentives Closed versus Open Source code has divided the Bitcoin and broader crypto industry for well over a decade.

Bitcoin advocates have long argued that the financial infrastructure of the world should be built in public. Transparency and auditability, they say, are non-negotiable when real money is at stake.

Yet the app and legacy layers of finance often disagree.  Yet the recent Coldcard hack, a popular self-custody hardware wallet where users lost over $100 million worth of bitcoin (more than 1,500 BTC), cast doubt over what “Open Source” actually means.

It revealed that perhaps most people, even many hardcore bitcoiners, are poorly educated on the Open Source software development philosophy and when it fails. The  Principles and Terminology The language around Open Source can be complicated.