There are thousands of developers creating open source software with Agile methodology.
But the bottom line here is trust. I hope you get that.
Phil Zimmerman's PGP made such a big splash not because it was such strong encryption—public key encryption had been around for over a decade—but because the cryptographic strength did not lie in obscurity, it was in the math. So it was released to the world source code and all and could not be taken back. It created a life of its own because it could be trusted. It could be reviewed by anyone to ensure that there were (are) no government (or other) back-doors. People knew it could be counted on because even if they didn't know the math or know how to read source code, they could find someone of their own choosing to look it over and make sure it was safe. The strength is in the transparency. Every detail of how it works has to be open to scrutiny because that's the only way you know that it works.
I'm not an open source zealot. I use a closed-source word processor, closed-source graphics software, a closed-source database manager, play closed-source games. Heck, I might even use a closed-source Bit(or other)coin wallet if I had reason to trust the developer. But not if I didn't know that the system worked exactly the same way on open-source versions. The backbone of the monetary system is like a privacy system. There is only one way to be trusted, and that is transparency.
Please read
https://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/faq/index.htmlGovernment controls money because it is too important to be left in the hands of private interests. Bitcoin's existence is a declaration that money is too important to be left in the hands of government, and that money needs to exist as a transparent ecosystem. That bell can't be unrung. A closed-source cryptocoin, even with a promise that someday it will be opensourced, is not one but two steps backward to privately-issued money.
The assumption really has to be that if we can't see the source, that you will be placing all sorts of devious software into the code, which you will let run for a year before removing and releasing the new version without all the nastiness. Even if I believe you when you say you won't do that, I have to assume that you will. You trust your mother, but you still cut the deck when you play cards with her. Trust, but verify.
An open source monetary system gives us liberty. A closed source monetary system at best gives us license.
You will do whatever you will do, but I hope that you will take the time to consider the opportunity for advancement that you are planning to squander and dispose of.
" $ sign that for some reason looks more innovative than the rest of the bunch
