Can ‘Code’ open up Solana’s closed culture?

Code, a Solana-based crypto wallet, has fully open-sourced its code.

This move will make Code one of the first Solana-based applications to completely open-source its application using the MIT License.

The MIT License enables users to copy software code and its associated files “as is,” meaning that anyone can now use, copy, modify and distribute Code’s software without limitation.

Tanner Philp, the chief operating officer of Code, told Blockworks in an interview that the MIT license is one of the most permissive licenses today.

“The Bitcoin code base is also an MIT license, so adhering to Satoshi’s vision, it is the most permissive and open license, and that’s what we’re going with,” Philp said.

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Philp notes that the team at Code subscribes heavily to Satoshi’s vision of creating a truly peer-to-peer electronic cash system, enabling anyone to validate and build upon the infrastructure itself.

Traditionally, many apps built on the Solana blockchain have been built privately, with very few projects choosing to open-source their software.

This is likely because the Solana blockchain attracts many developers who have built consumer products in Web2, Philp notes.

“A lot of these developers land in the Solana ecosystem because it’s the most performant chain and gives you the best opportunity to build slick consumer experiences, but from an engineering culture perspective, that means a lot of people are coming from Web2, where open source is not usually the norm,” he said.

Philp adds that this move to open-source Code is important for the Solana ecosystem as a whole, as it can allow the network to take on more of a leadership position. He also notes that open-sourcing software tools show conviction in the tooling that has been built.

The Code team was founded by the team behind the Canadian messaging app, Kik. After struggling to find an appropriate business model to sustain its operations at Kik, the team launched its own cryptocurrency, Kin (KIN).

On the Lightspeed podcast (Spotify/Apple/YouTube), Code CEO Ted Livingston discusses Code’s announcement and crypto’s micropayments opportunity.

KIN was used to raise an initial coin offering (ICO) totaling $100 million for Kik, but after being fined $5 million by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Kik — now under new ownership — is no longer associated with KIN.

Updated Nov. 28, 2023 at 10:40 am ET: Included photo of Code CEO Ted Livingston.

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