Criteria for an Open Blockchain Network
Discussion
Decentralization Research Center:
"The blockchain network is either: (a) a blockchain whose source code is freely and publicly available open-source code; or (b) a blockchain protocol whose source code is freely and publicly available open-source code and is recorded for execution by clients on a blockchain of the kind described in clause (a).
Closed software systems operated by centralized companies subject
their users to a number of risks – the source code is not made available
to users, and users cannot operate the code themselves. Securitizing
ownership of such software should remain subject to securities laws.
These risks can be reduced through open blockchain networks that
make their source code freely and publicly available. Open-source
requirements are an essential factor in establishing a standard for
reducing control and ensuring that intellectual property rights do not
provide indirect mechanisms of control that enable value extraction
from token holders. Additionally, they enable participants to fork
the underlying blockchain, and the transparency of the source code
enables anyone to verify how it functions, including that the system can
operate without human intervention and that no person has inherent
authority to make unilateral decisions impacting the functioning of
the source code."
(https://thedrcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/DRC-Designing-Policy-Final.pdf?)
More information
- The criteria for Open Blockchain Networks was originally proposed in
"Defining Decentralization for Law" in 2020.
URL = https://lex-node.medium.com/defining-decentralization-for-law-58ca54e18b2a
Source
* Report: Designing Policy for a Flourishing Blockchain Industry. With the assistance of Miles Jennings, Sarah Brennan, and Thomas Chow. Decentralization Research Center, 2025.
URL = https://thedrcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/DRC-Designing-Policy-Final.pdf?