The Accusation
In a surprising twist of events, Polygon Zero has thrown serious accusations at Matter Labs, pointing fingers at plagiarism of “a substantial amount of source code.” This code, they claim, was brazenly copied from their Plonky2 library, and the alleged perpetrator is zkSync, Matter Labs’ rival Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution. As the drama unfolds, the crypto world braces for a code war like no other.
The Dance of Denial and Accusation
Matter Labs has not taken these claims lying down. They vehemently deny Polygon Zero’s allegations, arguing that only 5% of the code was borrowed, and proper attribution was given. But Polygon Zero remains unyielding, stating that the Boojum proving system eerily resembles their Plonky2 library, leaving no room for doubt.
The Plot Thickens: “How Is It 10x Faster?”
Polygon Zero raises another question: How can Matter Labs claim that Boojum is 10 times faster than Plonky2, given that the performance-critical field arithmetic code is practically identical? The crypto community holds its breath, waiting for answers.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time the crypto community has witnessed such drama. Plagiarism accusations surfaced earlier when the Shibarium layer-2 beta testnet and Rinia testnet were discovered to have identical chain IDs, raising suspicions of copied code.
Matter Labs CEO: “Attribution? Could’ve Done Better”
In the heat of the battle, Alex Gluchowski, CEO of Matter Labs, defends his firm’s work, conceding that they could have handled attribution better. But he points out that Plonky2 and Boojum are both implementations of Matter Labs’ RedShift construction, implying that Polygon Zero might not be the true originators either. The crypto world buzzes with discussions on open-source principles and attribution etiquette.
Code, Claims, and Chaos
As the accusations fly and defenses are mounted, the crypto community finds itself entangled in a web of irony. In a realm built on transparency and decentralization, the quest for ownership of code takes center stage, and the very essence of open-source ethics is questioned.
Amidst the chaos, one thing becomes clear: attributing code is crucial in the crypto ecosystem. Open-source collaboration can thrive when credit is given where due. The plagiarism saga serves as a reminder that transparency and ethical practices are the foundation of a strong and united crypto community.