Linux is the open-source alternative to Windows and MacOS. The Linux Foundation behind the popular yet subversive free operating system are advocates of open-source technology and believe software and code should be accessible and editable by all, so that the community of users can help improve it together rather than having to rely on a central company to do so and have to pay for the privilege. With this ethos, the Foundation is now looking to the future and plans to build the frameworks that will support the digital wallets of the future that will enable you to take ownership over everything you do on the web. Let’s dig a little deeper.
The Linux Foundation has released a press release explaining that it is launching the Open Wallet Foundation (OWF). The OWF will have, “The mission of the OWF is to develop an open source engine to enable secure and interoperable multi-purpose wallets anyone can use to build solutions.”
The Linux Foundation has particularly stressed, however, that it is not looking to build another digital wallet, but that it is seeking to create the open-source framework that will be used as a solid foundation by other wallet developers, ensuring a plurality of providers build on interoperable standards. Think about how Android is an open-source mobile operating system that comes in many different flavors, and you will have a decent understanding of what the OWF is trying to achieve.
The types of wallets we are talking about here are not simple payment wallets like Apple Wallet or Google Pay but will form the basis of a fully-fledged digital identity that will hold verifiable and secure credentials about who you are, what you do and have done, and what you own. This will all be in the context of Web 3 moving forward, which will see internet services moving onto blockchains where transactions and interactions are stored openly and accessible to all. Your digital wallet is your way of interacting with these blockchains and will be more like your digital passport that will help you gain access to the digital services of tomorrow and take ownership over your interactions with them.
In this way then, it is an important step towards a more democratic digital future to have an open-source framework in development that will ensure these wallets are safe, secure, private, and interoperable.
In other recent news, Meta has just agreed to hand over governance of a key AI model to the Foundation.
