Layer 2 network, Base has announced its decision to build in the open, allowing public access to smart contract codes, citing transparency, accountability, and partnerships.

On October 19, Base released a statement explaining the decision to go open-source for both developers and the community, adding that all smart contract and web GitHub repositories can be accessed.

“We’ve open-sourced our smart contract repos to provide developers with increased transparency around Base’s contract development, deployment, and upgrade process. All contracts and scripts for Base are publicly available on GitHub.”

The company noted that it values community participation at all levels of development, including the incorporation of new services and expansion.

Transparency and accountability in Base 

The team behind the project noted that by sharing the code and GitHub repos with the public, the wider community will scrutinize its implementation and track the network’s progress.

Base, a layer 2 network backed by digital asset exchange, Coinbase has its project goals and commitments, explaining that the move will keep it in check.

According to the release, if developers and creators can tap into the knowledge base via the code, they can contribute, proffer solutions, refine, and even build new solutions for the good of layer 2 networks and the wider ecosystem.

“Further, it provides a channel for valuable community feedback, whether it’s about improving documentation or spotting an overlooked bug. In this spirit, today we’re excited to share that we’ve open-sourced our smart contract and web GitHub repositories,” they added.

Recently, several projects have faced infamous incidents due to a bug resulting in millions being wiped away from the project. This sour trend has also led to calls by users to make open-source codes for the public’s audit.

There have been calls for multiple blockchain projects to go open-source and allow developers to learn, audit, and build on their code for better participation and to foster decentralization.

While some agree to this, others deny the request with reasons hinged on protecting intellectual property and remaining exclusive for several years.

Incentives against bad actors 

With the high rate of industry meltdowns occasioned by hackers, Base looks to prevent an incident but its decision to make its code open-source attracts the attention of good developers who can help the network as well as bad ones.

To prevent an ugly scenario, the team has urged positive developers and the community to keep an eye out and to scrutinize the code for any vulnerability including disclosing a bounty of $1 million for detecting bugs.

“If you’re security-minded and spot a security issue in any of our code, our HackerOne bounty program covers the Base network, the Base bridge contracts, and Base infrastructure with bounty payouts of up to $1,000,000.”