TL;DR
- Matter Labs has ended its plans to trademark the “ZK” after strong criticism from the community and industry experts.
- The controversy arose when the company announced its intentions to trademark “ZK” in nine countries to protect the term in relation to its zkSync technology.
- zkSync has 767,730 weekly active addresses, representing a 10.2% share of the total.
After receiving strong criticism from the community and industry experts, Matter Labs has decided to withdraw its plans to trademark the “ZK.” The decision was made after the company, known for its zkSync scaling solution on the Ethereum network, faced clear opposition from renowned researchers and community members.
The controversy erupted when Matter Labs originally announced its intentions to apply for the trademark “ZK” in nine countries. The company justified this action as a measure to safeguard the term “zero-knowledge” (ZK) in the context of its zkSync technology. However, their strategy raised concerns among industry leaders, who argued that ZK technology should remain accessible to all and not be subject to the exclusive ownership of a single entity.
Thank you to everyone who reached out following our post, offering ideas, support, and feedback.
As a result of these conversations, we decided to drop all trademark applications for the term “ZK”.
These discussions came down to one important fact: it would be impossible to…
— Matter Labs (∎, ∆) (@the_matter_labs) June 2, 2024
Following intense criticism, the company publicly announced on June 2 that it would withdraw all trademark applications related to “ZK.” The company acknowledged the difficulty of establishing a neutral and fair group accepted by the global community.
Matter Labs Backtracks
The community’s negative reaction was manifested in a joint letter issued by prominent figures in the ZK technology industry, including Shafi Goldwasser, Silvio Micali, Eli Ben-Sasson, and Sandeep Nailwal. In this letter, they emphasized the importance of preserving ZK technology for the public good and opposed its commercialization by a single entity.
Despite the controversy, zkSync remains one of the most popular layer 2 solutions in the Ethereum ecosystem. Data from Growthepie reveals that zkSync has 767,730 weekly active addresses, representing a 10.2% share of the total layer 2 addresses.
Matter Labs’ decision responds to the pressure and concerns expressed by the community and industry leaders. ZK technology will continue to be an accessible and available resource for the benefit of all stakeholders in the crypto world.
