Arweave is in trouble again, with rumors of internal strife in the community. Here's what happened:
1. HyMatrix @HyMatrixOrg, an Arweave ecosystem project using Arweave for permanent storage, announced the launch of its first testnet on August 1st. It is a public chain focusing on "decentralized computing" and claims to use a disruptive SCP architecture (a storage consensus) that can achieve a 1000-fold performance breakthrough.
2. Forward Research @fwdresearch sent a lawyer's letter claiming that HyMatrix copied AO @aoTheComputer's code, demanding changes or deletion of its code repository or infrastructure. This is a research and incubation center established and led by Arweave founder Sam Williams, representing the Arweave official and aimed at promoting the Arweave ecosystem.
However, this lawyer's letter was sent to EverVision @EverVisionLabs, another Arweave ecosystem project, on August 9th, not directly to HyMatrix.
3. HyMatrix quickly responded with a long article: No code is related to AO, all core code is open-source and can be checked by anyone. They even teased AO, saying their chain's performance is not good and they can reference HyMatrix's code if they want.
Gossip Highlights:
1. Fading Divine Coin Halo?
Arweave (AR) is the leader in the storage track, and many practitioners even favor it more than the more well-known Filecoin. In the last market cycle, AR's 10-fold surge drew collective attention.
However, in this bull market, both the project and token have performed poorly. The divine coin halo is not working this time. Now, trending due to controversy is even more sighing.
2. Is Crypto Freedom or Control?
Arweave has always held the banner of "fighting digital authoritarianism" and emphasized the spirit of freedom, yet it has sparked heated discussion due to two "controversial actions against ecosystem projects". This time, the reason is actually code plagiarism.
It should be noted that HyMatrix is a computing public chain based on Arweave, and is a partner within the ecosystem, making this lawyer's letter puzzling.
Previously, the Irys fork event was also "very big". Irys was the leading project in the Arweave ecosystem and a key driver of Arweave's explosion. In January 2024, Arweave founder Sam Williams suddenly wrote that Irys was going to fork Arweave, and ultimately Irys chose to drive it out of the Arweave ecosystem. This public chain project seems to be preparing for TGE this year.
Will AR Be Okay?
Many wonder why AR isn't rising despite Arweave's strong consensus and potential AI narrative dividends. Arweave's latest mainstream media news stopped in February this year, disappearing for nearly 7 months. What happened? This "lawyer's letter controversy" seems to expose the reasons:
1. Poor technical performance and hindered development.
The computing network public chain AO by Arweave founder Sam Williams, once claimed to rival Google Cloud and Amazon. Its TGE was very dramatic and indeed drove AR's significant rise from $3.6 to $49. However, AO has been declining since TGE, with a current market cap of around $64 million.
Some community members analyzed that community projects were very enthusiastic at the time, wanting to work hard with Arweave, but ended up being "worked hard against". AO's performance was poor, community members gradually retreated, and AO thus gradually faded.
2. Chaotic Arweave ecosystem management and insufficient community cohesion.
From community voices, there is dissatisfaction with Sam Williams' performance, which has led to a decline in Arweave ecosystem cohesion, ultimately resulting in falling behind the rapidly changing industry.
In any case, AR is currently priced at $7.8, with an FDV of around $500 million. As a storage leader, Arweave's subsequent development is worth continuous attention. We will also continue to follow the aftermath of this "lawyer's letter controversy".
