Updated on:12/14/2025 04:31 PM 
The blockchain industry witnessed a significant development on June 2 when Matter Labs, the innovative team behind the popular Ethereum layer-2 solution zkSync, announced its complete withdrawal of all trademark applications for the term "zero-knowledge (ZK)" technology.
This decision came after an intense wave of criticism from prominent figures across the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The controversy erupted when Matter Labs attempted to secure exclusive rights to the "zero-knowledge" terminology—a fundamental concept in blockchain technology that enables privacy-preserving transactions.
Leading the charge against the trademark bid were influential industry stakeholders including Polygon co-founders Sandeep Nailwal and Brendan Farmer, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, Polyhedra Network co-founder Tiancheng Xie, and renowned Turing Award winner Shafi Goldwasser. These experts issued a powerful joint statement condemning Matter Labs' actions as detrimental to the collaborative spirit of the blockchain community.
The critics argued that zero-knowledge technology represents a public good that should remain accessible to all participants in the blockchain ecosystem. They emphasized that allowing a single entity to control terminology essential to the industry's development would contradict the core principles of openness and innovation that have driven blockchain technology forward.
In response to mounting pressure from the community, Matter Labs issued a statement confirming the abandonment of its trademark efforts. The company expressed appreciation for the community's engagement and acknowledged the importance of maintaining an open ecosystem for blockchain innovation.
"We have decided to withdraw all trademark applications related to 'zero-knowledge technology,'" stated Matter Labs. "The feedback from the community has been invaluable in helping us understand the broader implications of our actions."
Matter Labs CEO Alex Gluchowski elaborated on the decision, admitting that it wasn't reached lightly. "While we believed our trademark applications were within legal bounds, we recognize the importance of preserving the collaborative nature of our industry," he explained.
Despite the public announcement, the official status of the trademark applications on the US Patent and Trademark Office website initially indicated that the process was still ongoing. According to the records, the trademark was originally filed on February 27, with the application showing as "accepted by the Office (has met the minimum filing requirements) and has not yet been assigned to an examiner." However, subsequent updates confirmed Matter Labs' commitment to withdrawing these applications.
