Free · F3
Open-core dependence
Does a production deployment need a proprietary plugin or hosted-only service?
Why it matters
Open core with a closed production path means the license on the open part does not buy the freedom to run the product.
Scoring anchors
| A production deployment needs no proprietary plugin or hosted-only service. | |
| Optional proprietary components; core works without them. | |
| Documented that production needs a hosted service with no open alternative. | |
| Core cannot run without proprietary components. | |
| No admissible evidence submitted yet. Counts as 0 in the pillar. |
Admissible evidence
- Dependency manifests and config at a pinned commit verified
- The O3 reproduction attempt documented (trace)
Common failures
- Hosted API key required at runtime for a "self-hosted" deployment.
Current ratings
| Provider | Score | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Aleo (credits.aleo private transfers) | A production deployment (own node, CLI or SDK) needs no proprietary software. The proving parameters are fetched from Provable's hosts but are open data that can be mirrored. The hosted API, delegated proving and record scanning are optional. Judgment call: 2, since we made no O3 reproduction and the parameter hosting has no independent default. | |
| AnomaPay | The documented production flow needs Anoma's hosted proving, transaction and indexing services, with no open alternative published. Client-side proving is announced as future work. Scored 1. | |
| Avalanche Card | The product is entirely hosted, proprietary Rain-group services. Nothing can run without them. | |
| Avici Card | By the provider's own account, the card cannot run without Avici's hosted API and partners. Provider admission, so 0. | |
| Aztec (Alpha mainnet private token transfers) | A production setup (own node, PXE, wallet) needs no proprietary plugin; hosted RPC, snapshots and third-party wallets are optional. Judgment call: the code supports 3, but with no O3 reproduction we take 2. | |
| Bitget Wallet Card | The card cannot run without Fiat24's hosted authorizer, backend and card processor, none of which has an open alternative. Core cannot run without proprietary components, so 0. | |
| Blanksquare (Shielder) | No proprietary plugin or hosted-only service is needed to deposit and withdraw. Judgment call: the code supports 3, but with no O3 reproduction we take 2. | |
| COCA Card | The card cannot run without COCA's hosted service and its third-party card provider. Core cannot run without proprietary components, so 0. | |
| Coinbase Commerce (Onchain Payment Protocol) | A Coinbase Commerce deployment needs the hosted Charge API and Coinbase's operator key, and no open alternative is published. The settlement contract does not need them, since any operator can use it. Judgment call: we score 1 and not 0, because the core contract can run without proprietary parts. A merchant would still have to write their own operator and checkout code, because none exists in the open. | |
| Curvy | Deposits cannot be shielded without the closed Portal Broadcaster holding OPERATOR_ROLE, and the SDK cannot start without the closed API. The core cannot run on public components alone. Scored 0. | |
| Daimo Pay | A production deployment cannot run without services only Daimo runs: the API (an API key is required), the allowlisted relayer, and the price-signing key. The open SDK and contracts do not work without them. | |
| Deblock Card | No admissible evidence yet. | |
| Ethena Pay | The card product cannot run without Ethena Pay's proprietary executor service, backend and Rain's program; there is no open alternative. | |
| ether.fi Cash | The core product, card payment, cannot run without ether.fi's proprietary backend and keys, the Turnkey signer, the issuer and Visa. | |
| Exa Card | The card cannot run without Rain's issuing platform, the issuer and Visa, and Persona and Sardine. These are hosted-only proprietary services. | |
| Fluidkey | Production depends on Fluidkey's hosted backend for issuing and tracking addresses, with no open alternative; the open kit covers key derivation and recovery. Scored 1: documented that production needs a hosted service. | |
| Fuse Card | The card cannot run without proprietary services: the Fuse app, Bridge, Lead Bank and Visa. | |
| Gnosis Pay | The core product, card payments, cannot run without Gnosis Pay's proprietary backend and partner credentials, and without the issuer (Monavate) and Visa. The onchain account works on its own for holding and withdrawing, but not as a payment rail. | |
| HesabPay | No admissible evidence yet. | |
| Hinkal | A third party running the open parts still needs Hinkal-hosted proving keys for the deployed verifiers. Running a fork with new keys would need a new trusted setup and new contracts, and the BUSL licence restricts that. Scored 0. | |
| Holyheld Card | The product cannot run without Holyheld's hosted services, its private library and its card partners. | |
| Houdini Swap | The MIT client is the only open code, and it cannot do anything without Houdini's proprietary hosted API. The core cannot run without proprietary components. | |
| Hyperbeat Card | The card cannot run without Hyperbeat's proprietary Operator and backend. 0. | |
| Jupiter Card | The product cannot run without proprietary hosted services. 0. | |
| M-Pesa | No admissible evidence yet. | |
| MetaMask Card | Card payments cannot run without Baanx's proprietary backend and operators, Monavate and Mastercard. | |
| Opera MiniPay | No admissible evidence yet. | |
| Monero | A production deployment needs no proprietary component: node and wallets are public and run on their own. The default DNS lookups are optional. Judgment call: the code supports 3, but with no O3 reproduction we take 2. | |
| Nullmask | The product cannot run without the operator's closed services. Scored 0. | |
| Oobit Card | The product cannot run without Oobit's proprietary services, Rain, the issuer and Visa. | |
| Payy Card | The card cannot run without Payy's proprietary backend and app, Rain, the issuer and Visa. | |
| Phantom Cash | The product cannot run without proprietary hosted services. 0. | |
| Plasma One | The card cannot run without Rain's proprietary signing service and Plasma's backend; there is no open alternative. | |
| Privacy Pools (0xbow) | The pools, SDK and circuits run without proprietary code, but private withdrawal needs an ASP, and only 0xbow's closed one exists for this deployment. A fork could deploy its own Entrypoint with its own postman, but would have to write the ASP. Scored 1: documented that production needs a hosted service with no open alternative. | |
| Railgun | No proprietary plugin or hosted-only service is needed: the artifacts are content-addressed on IPFS and the indexer, POI node and broadcasters are optional. Judgment call: the code supports 3, but with no O3 reproduction we take 2. The contracts and circuits being unlicensed is scored under F1. | |
| Request Network | In code, the open path needs no proprietary plugin or hosted-only service. The node, IPFS, and indexer all run locally, and the SDK accepts any RPC. The proprietary pieces (Request API, Secure Payment page, KYT vendors, Pimlico, Request Finance) are optional. Judgment call: anchor 3 also fits the code, but we score 2. We made no O3 reproduction, so we have not shown a production deployment running free of hosted services. | |
| Rizon Card | No admissible evidence yet. | |
| SafePal Card | The card cannot run without Fiat24's hosted authorizer, backend and card processor, none of which has an open alternative. Core cannot run without proprietary components, so 0. | |
| Solayer Card (Emerald Card / Solayer Pay) | The product cannot run without proprietary hosted services. 0. | |
| Tongo (confidential ERC-20 on Starknet) | Production use needs only the public contracts, SDK and a Starknet RPC. The AVNU paymaster matters only on the optional Relayer path. Judgment call: no O3 reproduction, so 2. | |
| Tornado Cash (Classic pools) | No proprietary plugin or hosted-only service is needed. The pools, proving key and client are public, and any Ethereum RPC works. The UI's default Infura and Alchemy RPCs, The Graph, and the Chainalysis oracle are all optional. Judgment call: the code supports 3, but with no O3 reproduction we take 2. | |
| Tria | The product cannot run without Tria's proprietary platform and the issuer. 0. | |
| Tuyo Card | The card cannot run without proprietary services. | |
| Umbra Cash | The protocol runs with public code and any RPC. The closed Umbra API and Ponder indexer are optional for the protocol, but a self-hosted copy of the app loses token sends and relayed withdrawals without them. Scored 2: optional proprietary components. | |
| Wirex One | The product cannot run without Wirex's hosted API, oracle key, Privy and card partners. | |
| Wise | No admissible evidence yet. | |
| WORM (BETH proof-of-burn) | No proprietary plugin or hosted-only service is needed. The hosted prover is optional. Judgment call: the code supports 3, but with no O3 reproduction we take 2. | |
| XPlace Card | The core card product cannot run without proprietary hosted services. 0. | |
| Zcash (shielded transfers) | A production deployment (Zebra node, light-wallet server or Zallet, and a wallet) needs no proprietary component. The mobile wallet's store builds add optional proprietary services, and a FOSS flavour builds without them. Judgment call: the code supports 3, but with no O3 reproduction we take 2. | |
| zERC20 (zBNB on BNB Chain) | Using the deployed protocol requires the provider's root prover, a hosted-only service by contract design, and the indexer code is not officially public. The docs describe both services. Scored 1: production needs a hosted service with no open alternative, documented. |