Lopp believes that large Bitcoin miners should contribute funds to develop the Bitcoin code. The developer stated that the biggest problem with Bitcoin is competing with other industries for talent.
Open-source software generally depends on donations, a problem that Bitcoin must also face. American cypherpunk and developer Jameson Lopp recently raised that issue on his Cypherpunk Cogitations blog.
The renowned bitcoiner said that the financial support for the maintenance of the Bitcoin code has a complex set of problems. He talked to several developers, CEOs, founders, scientists, academics, and investors about the subject.
Jameson Lopp believes that it may not be sustainable to fund every open source project with donations in the long run. For that reason, he mentioned alternatives like issuing bonds, creating a self-sustaining fund, and taking advantage of state incentive programs.
Furthermore, he stated that the financing of Bitcoin will continue to be controversial. Many fear that funders could pressure developers to make their work profitable, regardless of affecting others in the ecosystem. Therefore, he believes that the best formula would be to grant financing through contracts without conditions.
Charities and exchanges seem to be the main funders of Bitcoin developers. The latter tend to be the most profitable businesses in the industry. Lopp commented that large miners could follow suit and contribute funds to the development of the network.
According to Lopp, the development of Bitcoin software receives donations of around USD 20 million a year. However, private projects with less activity in their Github repositories manage more than USD 150 million a year.
Bitcoin Competes with other Industries that also Require Talented Developers
The American developer commented that the main obstacle, apart from financing, is the talent available in the programming area. He said that Bitcoin was competing against almost all other industries requiring talented developers.
Lopp discussed the rigidity of the protocol, which is between sticking to the current model or introducing new features that could add value, in addition to vulnerabilities. The expert considers that the best thing would be to finance the development of second-layer technology since it does not usually require changes in the consensus.
Several organizations partnering with private companies allocate funds to finance the development of Bitcoin. The former include non-profit associations Brink and the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), which favor the growth of that network.
The main objective of Brink is to help ensure the security and stability of the base protocol. However, they also fund research and development to extend the functionality, scalability, and usability of Bitcoin.
The Human Rights Foundation fights the censorship of the pioneering cryptocurrency by governments worldwide. They have contributed 3.5 BTC to finance ten developers who work in different areas of the Bitcoin field.
Bitcoin is the most prominent network in the cryptocurrency market, so its development is a topic of great interest to the community. Lopp and other experts believe that the improvement of the network should receive higher annual donations.
By Alexander Salazar
