}
A huge proportion of computing resources used in the world today are open source. Collectively, the open-source developer community has created a massive pool of software, libraries, frameworks, and other developer tools that have transformed the world. These resources, which are largely developed by volunteers, have become the bedrock upon which some of the most commonly used applications are built on.
Despite propelling humanity towards such extraordinary achievements, there is no set framework on how to reward these self-organised contributions. Particularly, individual developers lack definitive means through which they can benefit from the use of their contributions to open source initiatives. Not to be misunderstood, this does not mean that contributors to open source are not compensated. They do. Developers can earn through various means such as sponsorships and grants from organizations, dual-licensing, consulting, freemium models, and auxiliary channels. As a result, earnings are oftentimes not commensurate to the developer’s effort, skillset, time, and usefulness of their contribution among other parameters.
Fortunately, all hope is not lost as innovation for alternative reward/earning mechanisms within the space is ongoing. Platforms such as Patreon and Gitcoin are taking different approaches and are opening up additional options for open source developers.
However, these inventions only scratch the surface and fall short in addressing the bigger issue, that is the lack of standardized incentives and revenue model for developers.
Radix is taking on a new approach altogether by creating a recurring developer revenue model for incentivizing open source developers to keep building.
Radix is pioneering a new approach that enables open source developers to benefit directly from their contributions through the Developer Royalties System. The blockchain-based system will be built on the Radix network and will serve as a reward mechanism through which developers can generate on-going revenue in a sustainable manner.
This novel solution is built with both the market and community in mind as Radix seeks to build a robust decentralized network to support the next generation’s financial ecosystem. This is a herculean task requiring the commitment of massive resources, resilient building, and cooperation among developers. In short, it is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. But, it needn’t and shouldn’t be.
The Radix Developer Royalties System is a simple, yet, highly effective incentive mechanism that will help accelerate this process immensely. This is how it works. A developer’s contribution like a library, oracle, or smart contract in the Radix network is referred to as a ‘Component’. Developers can openly create components that can be used by anyone on the network to build applications, assets, and financial products among others. The incentivize system encourages developers to build these core components and make them accessible to other users on the network. In turn, the developer can set a royalty fee, to be earned whenever a component they created is used.
Incentivising developers, dApps builders, and companies will encourage them to contribute more to the ecosystem. This will help fast-track the development of the Radix network and applications supporting core functionalities. With revenues tied to contributions and their use on the network, developers are incentivized to build basic and useful features that in turn accelerates others’ ability to build atop the network infrastructure. The system shortens the time needed to build new products on the Radix network by availing the necessary components on the network’s catalog.
The ingenious nature of this incentive mechanism results in a win-win scenario for all parties. Developers have a sustainable revenue stream through on-going incentives for their contributions to the network. The network grows rapidly in both scope and complexity due to increased activity from incentivizing developers. The system will boost the long-term growth of the ecosystem as a result of the easy creation of applications that in turn drives adoption.
Development in the blockchain space is quickly gathering speed but still remains a long way out from establishing robust networks capable of supporting a globally scalable finance ecosystem. There is a need to accelerate the pace of development even further to support the transition towards a fully decentralized financial system. Initiatives such as the Radix incentive system are a step in the right direction as they help simplify the creation of blockchain-based solutions whilst minimizing the learning curve.
Particularly, Radix will play an important role in the growth of the revolutionary DeFi ecosystem by accelerating the development of useful tools needed to create complex structures for greater capacity. New projects can focus on customizing or building the more complex features of their platforms by perching on top of the pre-built solutions. Most importantly, it will help them avoid the pitfalls encountered by their predecessors by deploying proven fixes.
The Radix incentive system will also play a critical role in solving some long-standing complex issues inhibiting blockchain technology from reaching its full potential. The sector has been plagued by issues such as interoperability, scalability, and decentralization, popularly known as the blockchain trilemma. This trilemma is viewed as a major impediment for the widespread adoption of blockchain technology and any meaningful progress in solving the issue would be a major accomplishment for the sector.
Thus far, developers within the space have made major strides in solving these issues but there still lacks an ideal remedy. The Radix incentive system could serve as the much-needed motivation for open source developers to focus on solving such problems. The potential handsome rewards for the ideal solution could help accelerate building and collaboration across the community. In this way, the Radix Developer Royalties System could become the ideal catalyst for driving progress in the blockchain space in the long term.
