ZK Industry Leaders Condemn Matter Labs and Side With Polyhedra in ZK Ticker Debate

Leaders from StarkWare, Polygon, and Polyhedra Network denounce Matter Labs’ attempt to trademark “ZK,” calling it a threat to the crypto community.

On Thursday, leaders from major zero-knowledge (ZK) projects publicly sided with Polyhedra Network in its ongoing dispute with Matter Labs, the creators of zkSync, over the ZK ticker symbol. 

Read more: Who Should Claim ZK? Polyhedra and zkSync Clash Over Token Ticker

Claiming Matter Labs has attempted to trademark the term “ZK” in nine countries, the group sharply criticized the move, with Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO of StarkWare, labeling the trademark attempt as “an absurd IP-grab.” Tiancheng Xie, co-founder of Polyhedra Network, echoed this sentiment, stating, “ZK should be accessible to everyone, period.”

In the last week, zkSync and Polyhedra have tussled over the ZK ticker on exchanges, with Polyhedra having originally claimed it in March, but only after it had announced that it would use the ticker ZKB last November. Then, last week, zkSync announced its intention to use the ticker for its upcoming airdrop, and the crypto community largely seemed to support zkSync over Polyhedra. 

In their official statement, leaders of top ZK projects, including StarkWare and Polygon, condemned Matter Labs’ actions. They claim that Matter Labs’ attempt to trademark ZK and use it for their token goes against the foundational ethos of the crypto and Ethereum communities. The signatories emphasized that zero knowledge technology is a public good and should remain accessible to all.

In the statement, the group asserted that Matter Labs’ actions could set a dangerous precedent, allowing corporations to claim ownership over technologies they did not create. The leaders urged the community to demand that Matter Labs withdraw its trademark applications and abandon its use of the ZK ticker.

The signatories of the statement include prominent figures Shafi Goldwasser, a Turing Award winner and co-inventor of zero-knowledge proofs, Eli Ben-Sasson of StarkWare, Sandeep Nailwal and Brendan Farmer of Polygon, and Tiancheng Xie of Polyhedra Network.

Both Polygon and StakWare’s Starknet are direct competitors to zkSync.