Curve Finance has publicly stated that PancakeSwap used the core algorithm logic of its StableSwap protocol without permission in its Infinity upgrade, allegedly violating open-source license terms. Although Curve's smart contract code is open source, its license agreement explicitly requires users to comply with Attribution and compliant usage rules. The Curve team provided a code comparison analysis showing that PancakeSwap listed itself as the original author in some files, while the actual logical structure is highly consistent with Curve's StableSwap model, raising disputes about intellectual property ownership and open-source ethics.
StableSwap is an automated market-making mechanism designed by Curve specifically for stablecoins and low-volatility assets. By integrating the mathematical models of constant product curves and constant sum curves, it significantly reduces transaction slippage and improves price stability. This technology is widely used in the DeFi News field and has become the basis for many protocols to build efficient liquidity pools. However, with the rapid development of the DeFi News ecosystem, project teams frequently reuse existing code to accelerate development, which also highlights the issue of compliant use of open-source protocols.
PancakeSwap responded quickly after the incident was exposed, stating that it is willing to engage in direct communication with Curve to seek constructive solutions rather than confrontational handling. Curve also expressed its support for negotiated solutions, reflecting the industry's shared concern for balancing technology sharing and legal boundaries.
This dispute focuses on the Infinity version launched by PancakeSwap in April 2025. This upgrade integrates cross-chain transaction functions, supporting users to complete asset transfers between the BNB Chain and Arbitrum networks with one click, and introduces a programmable liquidity pool pegging mechanism to achieve advanced functions such as dynamic handling fees, transaction rebates, and on-chain limit orders. At the same time, this version significantly reduces the cost of creating liquidity pools, by up to 99%. Despite significant technological innovations, this copyright dispute exposes the general neglect of open-source license compliance by DeFi News projects in rapid iteration.
Industry observers believe that this event is not an isolated case, but a legal and ethical issue that must be faced in the process of the DeFi News ecosystem maturing. Open source does not mean unconstrained; even if the code is public, complying with license terms is still the basic responsibility of developers. In the future, how to establish clearer open-source protocol usage guidelines and industry consensus will become a key issue in promoting the sustainable development of DeFi News.