Shane Coughlan

Circle, a leading global financial technology firm and the issuer of USDC, the world’s largest, regulated U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, has announced an OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 conformant program. ISO/IEC 5230 is the international standard for open source license compliance, and provides a clear, globally recognized way to run a quality program to ensure effective, trustable supply chain management.

Circle enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies, public blockchains and open-source technologies for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. Circle’s payment stablecoins – USDC and EURC – and platforms are helping to build a new financial system that moves at internet speed, scale and cost.

 “Circle is at the forefront of bringing open internet software into the world of money,” said Trevor Baker, VP Technical Operations. “A digital dollar like USDC is a key technology that supports businesses, developers, and the future of payments. The OpenChain certification represents Circle’s commitment to maintaining the highest compliance standards for open source technology in the financial arena.” 

“The OpenChain certification journey was an incredible return on investment by streamlining our open source processes,” stated Jeff Tang, Circle’s Chief Intellectual Property Counsel. “Circle is excited to help raise the bar in blockchain development.” 

“Adopting ISO/IEC 5230 is fast becoming a litmus test for commitment to industry best practices around open source,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain General Manager. “I am delighted to see Circle take leadership in this area, and to provide a strong signal to the FinTech market regarding effective management of open technology. They join companies like KakaoBank in working with our standards, and I look forward to collaborating with the Circle team on next steps for the financial supply chain.”

About Circle Internet Financial, LLC

Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. Circle is the issuer of USDC and EURC – highly liquid, interoperable and trusted money protocols on the internet. Circle’s open and programmable platform and APIs make it easy for organizations to run their internet-scale business, whether it is making international payments, building globally-accessible Web3 apps or managing their internal treasury. Learn more at https://circle.com.

BlackBerry, an early adopter of ISO/IEC 5230:2020 and OpenChain Security Assurance Specification 1.1 (later ISO/IEC 18974:2023), has completed regular recertification for both standards. The recertification was completed in partnership with OSS Consultants, an official OpenChain Partner, and long-term collaborator in the open source governance space.

ISO/IEC 5230 and ISO/IEC 18974 have a regular recertification process to ensure that open source programs are up-to-date and match current organizational strategy and staffing. Recertification can be done through self-certification, independent assessment or third-party certification on a regular 18 month cycle. The OpenChain Project provides extensive certification support via its website: https://www.openchainproject.org/get-started

“BlackBerry has a long history of cataloging, tracking, and securing its open source components that are bundled as part of its software supply chain. OpenChain has helped us bring together these capabilities and license compliance to have a more holistic open source management process. Having standards like OpenChain is a powerful tool that assures our customers that we take the security and integrity of our software supply chain seriously. As the security community continues to push forward with initiatives like the Software Bill of Materials, companies will need to implement standards like OpenChain to meet the demands of the growing list of customers who prioritize security.”- Christine Gadsby, VP of Product Security at BlackBerry.

“The use of standards like ISO/IEC 5230 and ISO/IEC 18974 provide a strong foundation for companies to manage their open source supply chain. The recertification process is a key part in ensuring processes are current and match products, services and strategy. BlackBerry, as a leader in the field of providing enterprise solutions, is also a leader in software governance and management. Their recertification to our standards for open source license compliance and open source security assurance underlines their stance at the forefront of sustainable, reliable software asset management.” – Shane Coughlan, OpenChain General Manager.

“OSS Consultants is pleased to have partnered with BlackBerry to attain the first whole-entity ISO/IEC 5230 conformance in North America in 2022, the first whole-entity ISO/IEC 18974 conformance in early 2023, and again now to perform the recertification of both standards. This recertification for BlackBerry demonstrates their unwavering dedication to the security and integrity of their software supply chain.” – Russ Eling, Founder & CEO at OSS Consultants

About the OpenChain Project

The OpenChain Project has been building Trust in the Supply Chain Since 2016. Our vision is a supply chain where open source is delivered with trusted and consistent process management information. Our mission is to make that happen. The OpenChain Project has an extensive global community of over 1,000 companies collaborating to make the supply chain quicker, more effective and more efficient. Learn more at https://www.openchainproject.org/

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company’s software powers over 235M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety and data privacy, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry’s vision is clear – to secure a connected future you can trust.

BlackBerry. Intelligent Security. Everywhere. 

For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

About OSS Consultants

OSS Consultants is a business dedicated to helping organizations of all sizes – from the world’s largest and well-known companies to small businesses and start-ups – design, implement, and manage the most efficient, comprehensive and robust open-source program offices and policies on the planet. Service offerings range from a scan and audit of your third-party and proprietary software to creating a full OSPO within your organization. Find more information at www.ossconsultants.com and follow @OSSConsultants.

This meeting focused on closing two open issues around the Licensing Specification (ISO/IEC 5230) as we prepare a proposed update for the Steering Committee:

• Content of ‘2.2 Effectively Resourced’ #57
  https://github.com/OpenChain-Project/License-Compliance-Specification/issues/57
• Content and Sorting of ‘1.0 Program Foundation’ #56
  https://github.com/OpenChain-Project/License-Compliance-Specification/issues/56

Check out the full recording below:

Want to join our calls?

• https://www.openchainproject.org/participate

Want to be part of the mailing list for specification development?

• https://lists.openchainproject.org/g/specification/messages

The latest OpenChain AI Study Group meeting was hosted by our co-chair, Matthew Crawford of Arm. Check out the full recording and get the slides below.

Get the Slides:

• https://www.slideshare.net/slideshows/openchain-ai-study-group-north-america-and-europe-20240220/266417200

Learn more about the activities of this study group via their dedicated mailing list:

• https://lists.openchainproject.org/g/ai/messages