Code Copying Claims: Polygon vs. Boojum
Polygon Zero has accused zksync’s Boojum of imitating its source code, particularly its Plonky2 proof system. The allegations surfaced after Boojum claimed to have achieved a remarkable speed boost of over 10 times faster than Polygon Zero’s Plonky2. The dispute has sparked heated debates within the industry, with both parties presenting contrasting arguments.
Polygon Zero accused zksync's Boojum of copy-pasting some of its source code, including its Plonky2 proof system, and making misleading claims, such as claiming that Boojum is more than 10x faster than Plonky2. Matter Labs denied that, saying the code was clearly sourced.…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 4, 2023
Intellectual Property Clash
According to Polygon Zero’s statement, they discovered striking similarities between their Plonky2 code and Boojum’s implementation. They allege that Boojum resorted to a “copy-paste” approach, incorporating segments of Plonky2’s source code into their own, without proper attribution. Polygon Zero’s technical team further pointed out that this apparent code duplication could potentially lead to serious issues related to intellectual property rights and could undermine the trust of users in both projects.
Boojum, on the other hand, firmly denied any wrongdoing and refuted Polygon Zero’s claims. The team at zksync maintained that they had not copied any code and that their implementation was built independently, from the ground up. They insisted that the similarity was merely a result of utilizing similar mathematical concepts and cryptographic protocols, which are common in this field.
Controversial Performance Boast
The controversy intensified when Boojum boasted of achieving exceptional performance improvements over Plonky2. Such claims were seen as potentially misleading and were questioned by the community. In response, Polygon Zero sought clarity on the matter and demanded proper validation of Boojum’s performance claims.
