Allegations Emerge: Polygon Accuses of IP Theft by zkSync

Polygon Accuses zkSync of IP Theft

Polygon has raised an alarm claiming that zkSync used one of its inventions without giving proper attributions. The accusation is directed towards zero-knowledge rollup zkSync, which recently achieved significant milestones, alleging that they copied Polygon’s code without proper acknowledgment and made false claims about the original work.

Polygon Claims Against zkSync

Polygon protocol developed two Zero-Knowledge (zk) proof systems, known for their exceptional speed, named Plonky2 and Starky. These systems are essential for any developer interested in building a ZK L2 solution. The development of Plonky2 and Starky began when Polygon was a startup known as Mir. Upon completion, the company open-sourced their libraries under a permissive MIT/Apache license, aiming to be net contributors to the community, just as they benefited from the work of others. As a result, many developers started working on and enhancing Plonky2, leading to the growth of the ecosystem.

Recently, it came to light that Matter Labs, the developers of zkSync, released a proving called Boojum. A significant portion of Boojum’s code consists of copy-pasted source code from performance-critical components of the Plonky2 library. The alleged copy-pasting was done without proper attribution to the original author or acknowledging the original work.

Alex Gluchowski, the founder of Matter Labs, boldly claimed that Boojum is more than 10x faster than Plonky2.

Exploiting Open Source Code Without Attribution

Polygon asserts that this act by zkSync goes against the principles of the open-source ethos and harms the ecosystem. Open-source software thrives on collaboration and contributions from various members of the community, pooling their talents and expertise for the betterment of the ecosystem.

Normally, open source code can be used, modified, or distributed by anyone, as long as they credit the original creator. Additionally, those who use such code are expected to do so in good faith, refraining from making misleading claims about the work for marketing purposes.

Polygon emphasizes that “open source development is a zero-sum game, and open source projects should be treated as resources to be nurtured rather than exploited.”

The open-source ecosystem thrives when participants contribute more than they extract.

Conclusion

With these serious allegations against zkSync, the open-source community is urged to uphold the values of proper attribution and collaborative development for the continued growth and success of the ecosystem.