Matter Labs drops 'ZK' trademark applications following backlash from leading projects

Matter Labs, the company incubating the ZkSync Ethereum Layer 2 network, has dropped all attempts to trademark the term "ZK," the company announced on X, following backlash from pioneering zero-knowledge proof or "ZK" researchers.

Matter Labs said the discussions around the trademark application came down to one fact: "It would be impossible to agree on a group of people perceived as credibly neutral by nearly everyone," the company wrote in its announcement .

After Matter Labs announced its intention to trademark the term "ZK," several representatives of leading ZK projects, including Shafi Goldwasser and Silvio Micali, co-inventors of ZK proofs, Sandeep Nailwal and Brendan Farmer, co-founders of Polygon, and Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO of StarkWare, released a statement condemning the move.

"ZK should remain a public good. It shouldn’t be a trademark of a corporation: it should rather be accessible to all," the statement read in part. "If the company goes through with this, it will be separating itself from the very community it claims to be part of."

The controversy around ZkSync's trademark application came just as the protocol is planning for an airdrop that's expected to occur in mid-June, The Block previously reported . Its intent to use the ticker ZK led to a clash with Polyhedra, which opted to use the ZKJ ticker for its own token listing.

ZkSync is one of the most popular Ethereum Layer 2 blockchains built on ZK-proof technology, rather than the optimistic rollup strategy favored by networks such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and Blast.

According to The Block's data, ZkSync often has the highest seven-day moving average of transaction out of all ZK-powered Layer 2 Ethereum networks. Competitor Linea recently paused its network following the exploit of Velocore, a decentralized exchange built on Linea among other chains.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures .