Curve Accuses PancakeSwap of Unauthorized Code Copying of StableSwap

Another code licensing dispute has emerged in the DeFi News space. Curve recently accused PancakeSwap of copying its latest StableSwap-ng algorithm code without authorization. This accusation comes shortly after PancakeSwap launched a similar stablecoin trading feature, drawing widespread market attention.

Curve made a similar accusation against Saddle Finance in 2021, when the latter also launched a stablecoin exchange protocol highly similar to Curve without permission. This time, Curve stated that it had proactively sought to negotiate authorization and cooperation with PancakeSwap, but PancakeSwap only responded briefly, saying it was "directly contacting the other team to discuss the matter." Since then, neither party has publicly released further information.

Currently, neither party has disclosed the specific code version that was allegedly copied, nor has any legal action been formally filed. The core of the dispute lies in the differences in code license agreements: Curve's early StableSwap algorithm used a permissive open-source license, allowing free use; while its updated stableswap-ng version uses a "Business Source License," which prohibits commercial deployment without permission for a certain period. Therefore, determining which version of the code PancakeSwap used is crucial to defining whether infringement exists. The market reacted quickly, with PancakeSwap's native token CAKE falling by about 4% within 24 hours of the accusation being published. This event once again highlights the ambiguity of open-source code usage boundaries in the DeFi News ecosystem. Although open-source code promotes innovation, the lack of clear commercial usage norms can easily lead to legal and ethical disputes, posing challenges to collaboration models between protocols.