Open-Source: An Untapped Value
Revolutionizing Open Source: The Promise of a Decentralized Economy
Open source is everywhere and it is foundational to our global software. As a movement, open source is the architect behind some of our most pivotal and widely embraced technologies, encompassing operating systems, web browsers, and databases.
To put it in perspective, here are some numbers:
90% of companies use Open Source Software
76% of code in codebases is open-source
There are over 100 million developers on GitHub
And at least 413 million contributions on GitHub
The entire software market is valued at a colossal $1.5 trillion, and it's set to balloon to $2.3 trillion by 2027.
Now, let’s put these numbers together. The open source industry dominates 76% of the software industry at large. The software industry is projected to be worth $2.3 trillion by 2027. This should mean that the projection of open source has the potential of being worth $1.14 trillion. This must mean that open-source maintainers are millionaires!
Not so fast.
Here's the reality check. Only a mere 21% of open-source maintainers are catching paychecks for their open-source contribution. The actual market share for open source? A less flashy $28.3 billion. Yep, you read that right. Despite being the backbone of our digital lives, a significant chunk of open source is rolling in zero-dollar bills.
What's the deal with open source?
To decode this, let's rewind to its roots.
Back in the day, Richard Stallman kickstarted the Free Software Foundation in 1985, to promote the principles of free software and advocate for users' freedom to run, modify, and share software. This movement was fueled by lofty, idealistic values that captured the enthusiasm of many devs.
Fast forward to 1991, Linux entered the scene, making open source a powerhouse for enterprises—a faster, better route to crafting core software technologies. As foundational open-source tech multiplied, communities and businesses started to dip their toes into the waters of commercialization.
Rolling into the 2000s, open source snagged its spot on the strategic map. Acquisitions came in waves. MySQL snagged by Sun and later by Oracle, Red Hat by IBM, GitHub by Microsoft, … Simultaneously, many open-source projects started flirting with traditional business models, cozying up to venture capitalists for funding.
Cut to today, and the landscape has shifted. Open-source outfits, once all about community and common good, are now sporting NASDAQ listings. Stakeholders are toasting profits, but it's not the developers that are getting the benefits—it's the company owners. The promise of open source as a shared resource is now overshadowed by corporate interests.
This model's a moneymaker, as seen in figure 1.0, raking in a hefty $28.3 billion in 2022, with projections flirting with a cool $100 billion by 2030. But hold on, the applause isn't universal.
The gripe?
Unfair profit distribution,
Lack of community control,
Profit prioritization over open-source principles,
A few scandalous missteps that have left the community disheartened.
Companies are riding the open-source wave while the very contributors who power it are losing faith. In a nutshell, open-source projects currently face a critical economic challenge: they lack a dedicated business model to effectively rival proprietary software. Projects are faced with a tough choice. They can choose to adhere strictly to the principles of open source and free software, which often results in insufficient funding, limited resources, and ultimately a bad user experience or they can compromise on these core values by adopting centralized classical business models, potentially jeopardizing their community support. Tough choices indeed.
So, where do we go from here?
If we dig into the problem, it's not about having money and success. The real issue is having a centralized system that decides how the money gets shared.
The objective is to make sure that profits and resources are distributed in a way that sticks to open-source principles and is guided by the community. In other words, we're looking for a setup where money and decision-making are spread out among the community, not controlled by a central authority.
The most exciting part?
With the rise of blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency market, we can make this happen. How? Imagine a business model that combines the best of both worlds: keeping the community and core values intact while having a practical business model that works. That’s why we’re here and what we aim to accomplish.
Welcome to the Open Source Economy (OSE), a decentralized marketplace that allows any project to issue its own tokens, designed to meet the needs of all open-source stakeholders: maintainers, contributors, users, donors, and financial backers. In we're rolling out a groundbreaking approach—introducing a new asset class intricately linked to a project's success, powered by our Marketplace.
The project tokens aren't just tokens; they're the linchpin for all project-related business setups, safeguarding cherished open-source values like decentralization and community-driven development. We offer a flexible framework to decentralize existing income streams.
Building on that foundation, we go a step further by creating additional revenue streams for each project. Take, for instance, issues of incentivization. Users can incentivize issues on any platform (be it GitHub, GitLab, and more) without requiring builders to uproot. Once an issue is incentivized, our network effect is triggered notifying all the project community tokens are to be gained.
One of our primary goals is to attract new financial backers by leveraging existing project income. For every income generated, whether through project tokens or traditional payment methods (followed by an automatic swap), a small tax is applied. A portion of these tokens is then distributed to holders as real income, and another portion is removed from circulation. This mechanism, combined with an Augmented Bounding Curve, establishes a robust value accrual system. This innovative structure directly ties the token price to a project's success. Essentially, as a project thrives, so does the value of its associated token, creating a self-sustaining cycle of adoption → revenue → value accrual → investment → improvement. This virtuous cycle promises to elevate open-source projects, ensuring they gain an even wider adoption. For a comprehensive dive into the details of our robust and viable tokenomics, we've penned this article that breaks down an overview of every aspect.
For now, we're actively seeking new community members and financial backers to accelerate the momentum of this project. If you're interested in contributing, donating, or investing, feel free to drop your email here. Priority will always be given to those who have supported us from the outset. And don't forget, you have the reins in your hands for this project. Your support is what drives the direction we take. 🚀
