Drama Around Polygon + Biden "Advertises" Bitcoin

GM Readers!📪 It's BitDegree Insider, and here's something to make this Friday a bit more special.

⭐️Today's selection:

• 🤨Drama in the Polygon's Neighborhood
• 🪙Biden's Accidental Bitcoin Ad
• 🧩️Answer To Thursday Quiz
• 👌Selected Meme of The Day
• 📰Bite-Sized News

SOMEONE'S STEALIN' FROM POLYGON?

Oh, the plot thickens in the world of crypto drama. Polygon Zero, the scaling arm of Polygon, is pointing fingers at Matter Labs, accusing them of plagiarism.

According to an announcement on Aug. 3, Polygon Zero claims that Matter Labs went on a copy-pasting spree, snatching "a substantial amount of source code" from its precious Plonky2 library and sneaking it into their rival Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, zkSync.

The feud revolves around Matter Labs' recently released Boojum proving system, which is powered by zero-knowledge tech and competes with zkSync. Polygon Zero insists that this proving system contains a suspiciously large portion of code lifted from the critical components of its own Plonky2.

Polygon Zero is not one to be quiet about this. They firmly declare that the allegedly pilfered code was smuggled in without proper copyrights or any clear acknowledgment of the work of the original creators.

But the real mystery lies in Boojum being hailed as 10x faster than Plonky2.

Polygon Zero raises an eyebrow, questioning how is that possible when the performance-critical field arithmetic code looks like a Plonky2 copycat. I mean. That's a legit question. You can't cook the same recipe twice, and end up with two completely different meals.

Image taken from the original blog post by Polygon

Well, we shall see how things unfold. Whatever the outcome is, one thing is always certain: Copying your homework without saying 'thank you' is not a nice practice. But… Who knows, we can't jump to conclusions while the matter isn't fully investigated yet.

TL;DR: Polygon Zero accuses Matter Labs of plagiarizing a significant amount of source code from their Plonky2 library for Matter Labs' Boojum proving system. The alleged copying was done without proper attribution, prompting a dispute between the two entities in the cryptocurrency space.

BIDEN ACCIDENTALLY ADVERTISES BITCOIN

Well., it's Friday after all. Let's look at something fun. For example at this tweet (or should we call it an 'x'?) that the U.S. President just posted:

So, the message here is simple. Get a coffee mug. With Joe Biden's face on it. But… There's a catch. The U.S. president is edited to have those red, beamy eyes on the cup.

Which is… exactly what every Bitcoin enthusiast, from a general supporter, to the most hardcore maximalist, recognizes as a universal sign of someone who supports Bitcoin.

This is the Bitcoin look.

Not surprisingly, the crypto community went abuzz with some suggesting that the President had unknowingly given the "biggest endorsement of Bitcoin history" or was trying to win over Bitcoin enthusiasts (a.k.a. maxis).

However, the accidental association with Bitcoin seemed unlikely, given the Biden administration's criticized stance on cryptocurrencies, including controversial tax proposals for digital asset miners.

The truth behind the coffee mug's design revealed a different story - it actually referred to "Dark Brandon," a meme-based online alter-ego of Biden portraying him in a mysterious and edgy light, often embraced by his supporters to emphasize his policy achievements.

Despite the unexpected connection to the crypto world, the coffee mug incident added a touch of humor and intrigue to a community that often grapples with serious debates and policy concerns.

TL;DR: Joe Biden posted a lighthearted post about a new piece of merch being added to the POTUS merch section. The design of it appeared to be very similar of what is usually associated with Bitcoin supporters.

ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S QUIZ

Yesterday we announced a Write-off contest. Well, we asked, you delivered! Here's the image with the best caption that we received!

"How reading about Bitcoin for the first time feels like"

SELECTED MEME OF THE DAY

BITE-SIZED NEWS

• Binance Lists Shiba Inu Among 22 New Loanable and Collateral Assets. With the launch of new collateral assets, Binance aims to cater to diverse investor needs.
• Bitget Report Reveals that Gen Z Leads the Way in Crypto Copy Trading. It appears that Gen Z investors are most likely to use copy trading and trust financial advice received on social media.
• Falling Prices and Tight Regulations Impact Crypto Adoption in Canada. Bank of Canada believes that crypto adoption may increase after the market recovers and clear regulations are launched.

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