Trust issues and trustless, open source systems

Open Source stands for so much more than just code everyone can see. It is claiming its rightful position as an enabler of humanity's freedom.

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Centralized and "closed" software has dominated the industry for quite some time now. For a long time people interacted with software and released some very private and confidential information to it without really thinking about trust issues. I've got some serious trust issues when it comes to software and centralized systems, as any millennial today would, or should.

I always have those nagging thoughts like "what if Google can see all the passwords that are in my password manager?" I mean, I don't know how their software works or if they even have the chance to see my passwords. I have no way of finding out. It's the same with every other software we use.

The basic lack of trust is why the Open Source movement began in the first place. Transparency was lacking in the software industry.

Whenever we hear of a hack, it always has a centralized system involved. Every now and then you hear of a "Bitcoin hacking" but the protocol itself was never hacked. The network's integrity still stands, almost nine years after inception. It's the exchanges with flawed security systems that get hacked, and thousands or even millions of people who trusted them with their cryptocurrency get hacked along with them.

Another example of failed trust is what's going on with Poloniex recently. Steem and SBD deposits intermittently stop working and a lot of people get disadvantaged when they can't access their funds. Some people unknowingly sent a lot of STEEM or SBD only to find out that they can't sell it and they can't take it back too.

An open source and decentralized exchange will solve all this. People will be free to trade whatever, whenever without anyone having the power to stop them. There won't be a middleman to hold anyone's cryptocurrency for there to be a trade. With the code open source, people will sleep better knowing that code rules over mismanagement.

We are in a unique moment in time, and we are transitioning from centralized systems to decentralized and open ones. We are moving toward a trustless way of life, in which we trust the systems that don't force us to trust them or anyone else in the picture. Systems that support our freedoms as humans and cannot be compromised by design. That's what Open Source stands for.

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Posted on Utopian.io - Rewarding Open Source Contributors

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