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

Bitcoin Magazine argues the Coldcard incident highlights the practical security trade-offs between true open source and source-available licensing: FOSS’s four freedoms and OSI criteria enable broader independent review. Restrictive licenses (e.g., MIT + Commons Clause) that withhold commercial rights shrink the reviewer pool and shift the maintenance and security burden back onto the vendor. The net implication for Bitcoin is increased centralization of trust and higher systemic risk when critical wallet and protocol software are not fully open to independent scrutiny.