Top Bitcoin and cryptocurrency open source wallets

[gocryptowise]

An interesting topic that came up to discussion between me and some friends resulted in this post. And that was about which available Bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallets are open-source?

As the name suggests it means that the code in which the application is built on is licensed in such a way that it is open for others to read and modify.

There are some different types of licenses available which might suit you better depending on the application/software you are developing.

We have named the MIT license, there are also GNU, Apache and others (see them all here).

To learn even more about how open source works and the different licenses we recommend you to check out https://opensource.guide/legal/ and https://opensource.org/osd-annotated.

The 9 top-rated open source Bitcoin wallets list

Find the list here, I hope you like it! https://gocryptowise.com/blog/best-open-source-cryptocurrency-wallets/

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[o_e_l_e_o]

Saying an app is open source is not enough. You need to know that the app you are installing matches the code you think it does. The code might be open source, but if that's not the code that is being used in the most recent version of the app then it means nothing, as a malicious developer or third party could slip in some coin-stealing code in the most recent update without anybody knowing.

To verify that apps truly are open source, then you need to download the code, build the app yourself, and check that it matches the app you can download direct from the app store or links provided. The majority of the apps you have listed are not verifiable in this way.

The BitPay wallet, for example, has version 10.0.7 on Google Play store, but only version 10.0.4 their GitHub. Further, the app cannot be verified. See the following links: https://github.com/bitpay/copay/issues/10425 and https://walletscrutiny.com/posts/2019/11/bitpay/

Have a look at https://walletscrutiny.com/ for some of the others on your list - Edge, Bread, Blue. I'm not saying these wallets are necessarily bad wallets (although BitPay is a terrible wallet to use for a variety of other reasons), but just slapping an "open source" label on your project doesn't necessarily make it so.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

And to add as what @o_e_l_e_o have said, In theory, open source can be checked by anyone for like if the devs have inserted malicious code like to steal our cryptocoins. But this is not 100% guarantee simply because not everyone can understand and write code and still rely on others to do the review for them. And exploits can be done as well, like this one, Understanding The DAO Attack.

[Casdinyard]

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How do you define Open-Source on you article? Because all I've read was just wallets that were just transparent and secured (some were not).

Open-source, in technological terms, is being defined as:

denoting software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified.

In which simply means that their application codes / source code must be free to download, access, and change for either an update, a bug fix, or an enhancement. Meanwhile, indicating that those wallets are open source without indicating it's github or code link is just a pure fraud and a clickbait.

If ever a wallet would be open-source, it can be used by other people to duplicate that wallet and pretend to be an original for their thefts and attacks. It would be ridiculous to have nor trust an open-sourced wallet as you would be vulnerable in many aspects, including your holdings to be exact.

[BrewMaster]

As the name suggests it means that the code in which the application is built on is licensed in such a way that it is open for others to read and modify.

not true. an open source software can still have a very restrictive license that prevents others from using or modifying it without permission from the creator.
in simple terms open source only means the source code can be seen by anybody (is open).

[o_e_l_e_o]

If ever a wallet would be open-source, it can be used by other people to duplicate that wallet and pretend to be an original for their thefts and attacks.

I mean yes, if code is open source then someone else can modify it and release their own version, but that is not a reason not to use open source software. That's simply a reason to verify that the open source software you are using is indeed the legitimate version and not a fake copy. It is perfectly possible for malicious users to also create fake versions of closed source software and wallets as well, and this happens regularly. All they need to do is copy the layout, design, GUI, and the vast majority of users would not be able to tell the difference. At least with open source software you (should) be able to build it yourself from the code or at least verify that the code is unchanged.

It would be ridiculous to have nor trust an open-sourced wallet as you would be vulnerable in many aspects, including your holdings to be exact.

This is nonsense. The whole of bitcoin is built on open source code. Bitcoin Core is open source. Saying that all open source wallets are a risk to your coins is just plain wrong. The vast majority of coin thefts have occurred from closed source web and exchange wallets.