Partially open source is not the same as fully open source

[YellowSwap]

There is no other crypto wallet thread that's as informative as this, I learnt a lot and if you are just starting out trying to find the best crypto wallet to use and trust, look no further.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5288971.msg55583288#msg55583288

If your favourite crypto wallet is not on this list then it's not fully open source, someone sent me a PM on this forum asking what the best open source wallet is and I sent them this link, but after few days they came back to ask why Tangem wallet isn't on the list yet.

He said the person who created the thread needs to update it, well if you don't know, I am seeing that Tangem wallet is getting more interesting in the eye of many beginners, but Tangem isn't a fully open source wallet.

Tangem wallet is partially open source, yes the mobile app is fully open source and available on GitHub, however the firmware on the physical Tangem card is closed source, it's protected under a non-disclosure agreement to prevent cloning.

The closed source nature of the firmware means that users have to trust the company and the audit result, and which is why I can't recommend Tangem wallet to anyone.

I am not trying to make Tangem wallet look bad, I am here to share the knowledge, knowing the difference between open source, partially open source and closed source wallet can be a bit tricky at times.

Make sure you always do strong research before making the decision to purchase a hardware wallet, understand what you are getting atleast.

[KingsDen]

Tangem wallet is partially open source, yes the mobile app is fully open source and available on GitHub, however the firmware on the physical Tangem card is closed source, it's protected under a non-disclosure agreement to prevent cloning.

You quite stated the reason Tangem isn't fully open source, i.e to prevent cloning the firmware.
So, is there any recommendations that will allow them keep everything open without being cloned?

We are actually not blind to the greatest weakness of open source. You can't survive if you are not ready to give out everything.

[Mia Chloe]

~snip

It depends on the wallet. A software like cake wallet is open source but the swap area is closed source. The catch is more like a profit residing problem. Open source comes with a lot of sacrifices including allowing your code to be public which simply means you make no direct profit which is why most of them depend solely on donations.

We are actually not blind to the greatest weakness of open source. You can't survive if you are not ready to give out everything.

This is not true. It's just a profit choice. You'll only be concerned about your firmware and back end if you have a couple things set up for profit else there's no major danger.

[adultcrypto]

Tangem wallet is partially open source, yes the mobile app is fully open source and available on GitHub, however the firmware on the physical Tangem card is closed source, it's protected under a non-disclosure agreement to prevent cloning.

We are actually not blind to the greatest weakness of open source. You can't survive if you are not ready to give out everything.

Is this a mistake? Your statement should be right for closed source and not open source. From what I know,  open source is the way to go as it offer better security than closed source, I don't know of the challenges you are referring to which is why I want to learn them from you unless it's a typographic error from you. Being close source is the main problem of Trustwallet which is why Electrum that is open source is preferred.

[KingsDen]

Tangem wallet is partially open source, yes the mobile app is fully open source and available on GitHub, however the firmware on the physical Tangem card is closed source, it's protected under a non-disclosure agreement to prevent cloning.

We are actually not blind to the greatest weakness of open source. You can't survive if you are not ready to give out everything.

Is this a mistake? Your statement should be right for closed source and not open source. From what I know,  open source is the way to go as it offer better security than closed source, I don't know of the challenges you are referring to which is why I want to learn them from you unless it's a typographic error from you. Being close source is the main problem of Trustwallet which is why Electrum that is open source is preferred.

It is actually not a mistake. Let me explain what I meant;
For the case of Trustwallet you cited above, the reason they stopped being an open source according to them is to prevent malicious actors from cloning the wallet code to create fake apps or browser extensions to scam users.

Now, Tangem's reason for not being 100% open source is this..."however the firmware on the physical Tangem card is closed source, it's protected under a non-disclosure agreement to prevent cloning"

Is this reason not good enough? Just asking...
Anyways, I am not in any way supporting a closed source protocol. Just saying if it can be open source and also be a restriction ito unauthorized cloning, which is not possible.

[nakamura12]

It is actually not a mistake. Let me explain what I meant;
For the case of Trustwallet you cited above, the reason they stopped being an open source according to them is to prevent malicious actors from cloning the wallet code to create fake apps or browser extensions to scam users.

Even if they are close source is that their browser extension still got compromised. In my opinion, it's still useless if their service got compromised and made lots of people lose their funds using the browser extension even if they didn't make their wallet open source or even partially open source. I guess it's the reason why many people not prefer using open source wallet than using open source wallet like electrum and other open source wallets.

[BlackBoss_]

If your favourite crypto wallet is not on this list then it's not fully open source

A half of truth is no longer the truth, and a not-fully open-source wallet is no longer an open-source wallet.
There are only two opposite wallet types in their source code aspect: open-source or close-source. There is nothing in between and any wallet in between should be considered as close-source.

someone sent me a PM on this forum asking what the best open source wallet is

Make sure you always do strong research before making the decision to purchase a hardware wallet, understand what you are getting atleast.

Hardware wallets are best to use but only if the users pick open-source and good hardware wallets, then buy these wallets and use them rightly.
[url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5288971.0][LIST] Open source hardware wallets.
[GUIDE] How to buy a Hardware Wallet the right way.
walletscrutiny.com for checking whether a wallet is truly open-source and secure.

[FinneysTrueVision]

This reminds me of a meme posted by Trezor underneath one of Ledger’s replies. Ledger has always been misleading about the openness of their software. They have an article on their website where they say Ledger Wallet code is completely open source. This is the part that shows up in search engine descriptions, but if you read the whole article they actually admit that they are not fully open source.


https://x.com/Trezor/status/1981648021231222983

[Porfirii]

This reminds me of a meme posted by Trezor underneath one of Ledger’s replies. Ledger has always been misleading about the openness of their software. They have an article on their website where they say Ledger Wallet code is completely open source. This is the part that shows up in search engine descriptions, but if you read the whole article they actually admit that they are not fully open source.


https://x.com/Trezor/status/1981648021231222983

It's a real pity that when I started in crypto it seemed that there were only two options: Trezor or Ledger, and that it seemed that the two were the same, when over time it has been proven that they are not, from what you say, without taking into account other problems such as customer data leaks. Even here in bitcointalk Ledger was recommended by many users as the best alternative, or for tastes, and the number of users who will have bought one of their devices thinking that it was the best option on the market must be very high.

I bought a Ledger Blue back then, as an expensive whim, because the price was high but it was supposed to be worth it. I was annoyed that they suddenly stopped providing support for LB and had to switch to a different provider, although in hindsight it was the best.

[hd49728]

This reminds me of a meme posted by Trezor underneath one of Ledger’s replies. Ledger has always been misleading about the openness of their software. They have an article on their website where they say Ledger Wallet code is completely open source. This is the part that shows up in search engine descriptions, but if you read the whole article they actually admit that they are not fully open source.


https://x.com/Trezor/status/1981648021231222983

The meme is funny but practically for security question, people can check and know a (hardware) wallet is either open source or close source. Check open source (reproducibility) of Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets.

You can easily see opposite difference between Trezor and Ledger. Trezor is reviewed as open source (Source available) while Ledger is close source (No source!).
https://walletscrutiny.com/?platform=allPlatforms&page=0&query-string=trezor
https://walletscrutiny.com/?platform=allPlatforms&page=0&query-string=ledger

[dkbit98]

He said the person who created the thread needs to update it, well if you don't know, I am seeing that Tangem wallet is getting more interesting in the eye of many beginners, but Tangem isn't a fully open source wallet.

That is my thread and I am updating it with new wallets and updates, but I certainly won't add crap like tangem wallet.
I am supporting only hardware wallets that have fully open source firmware, not partially or view only code.
Satochip card is much better alternative for Tangem wallet, it's open source and it can be combined with Seedsigner device.