A Multivariate Analysis of Blockchain-based Open Source Software (OSS) on Github

Abstract

Open Source Software (OSS) solutions are the backbone of nearly every technological development in the 21st century. Valued at $8.8 trillion, different OSS have been implemented in around 96% of commercial programs produced and distributed to the public. Blockchain-based technologies have also seen a huge spike in demand, compounding at an annual rate of 68%. However, an increasing number of these blockchain projects have gone private. By 2017, only 8% of blockchain-based OSS were actively maintained from the previous year on Github. This problem culminated in this 2-stage analysis of over 600 Github-based blockchain projects. During the first stage, Google’s BigQuery enabled tracking of Github activity from 2013-2024, including watches, commits, and other forms of user contributions to the different communities. In the second stage, these OSS were later categorized into 10+ project types including: crypto exchanges, Layer-1 protocols, Layer-2 networks, decentralized applications, tokens, and Web 2.0 business among others. Further sorting was performed by funding models, governance modes, and governance tokens if applicable. The goal of this analysis is to recognize patterns within the Github community data to determine success factors responsible for active maintenance of a project. This study found a majority of projects to be decentralized applications, yet there was a significant minority of other projects. Other factors were also found in high correlation with active maintenance of an OSS. This analysis hopes to provide insight into elements influencing declining blockchain-based OSS and offer guidance for future OSS initiatives.

This abstract is part of a collection in which the overarching large project under Dr. Jiasun Li was subdivided into discrete critical tasks that were carried out by multiple individuals or smaller teams. Abstracts in this collection read similarly given the shared project goals, but represent distinct tasks completed by the abstract authors towards finalizing the described analysis.