Arweave is in trouble again, with suspicions of internal strife within the community. What exactly happened? We've compiled the relevant information on X, and the story goes something like this:
1. HyMatrix @HyMatrixOrg, an Arweave ecosystem project, uses Arweave for permanent storage. It announced the launch of its first testnet on August 1st. This public chain focuses on decentralized computing and claims to utilize the disruptive SCP architecture (a storage consensus) to achieve a 1,000x performance improvement.
2. Forward Research @fwdresearch issued a legal letter, alleging that HyMatrix plagiarized AO @aoTheComputer code and demanding that its codebase or infrastructure be altered or removed. This is a research and development incubator founded and led by Arweave founder Sam Williams, representing Arweave officials and aiming to promote the development of the Arweave ecosystem.
However, this letter was sent on August 9th to EverVision @EverVisionLabs, another Arweave ecosystem project, rather than directly to HyMatrix. 
3. HyMatrix quickly followed up with a lengthy response: "None of our code is related to AO. All core code is open source and accessible to anyone." They even teased AO: "Your chain performance is poor. If you think it's good, you can also refer to our code."
Original text: https://x.com/HyMatrixOrg/status/1955527910565294159
Highlights:
1. Is the halo of the magic coin fading?
Arweave (AR) is a leader in the storage space, and many industry insiders are even more bullish on AR than the more well-known Filecoin. In the last round of market activity, AR's 10-fold surge in value garnered widespread attention.
However, this bull market has seen both projects and tokens perform poorly. The coin's halo has worn off this time around. Now, its controversial trending is even more deplorable.
2. Is Crypto freedom or control?
Arweave has always held high the banner of "fighting digital totalitarianism" and emphasizing the spirit of freedom, but it has sparked heated debate due to two "controversial actions against ecological projects." This time, the reason is surprisingly: code plagiarism.
You know, HyMatrix is a computing public chain based on Arweave, and they are partners within the ecosystem. The lawyer's letter is puzzling.
Previously, the Irys fork incident also caused quite a stir. Irys is the leader of the Arweave ecosystem and a key driver of Arweave's success. In January 2015, Arweave founder Sam Williams suddenly announced that Irys would fork Arweave, ultimately leading to Irys's departure from the Arweave ecosystem. This public blockchain project also appears to be planning a TGE this year.
Will AR still be good?
Many people wonder why AR hasn't seen a surge in growth, given Arweave's strong consensus and the potential to capitalize on AI narratives. Arweave's last appearance in mainstream media was in February of this year, a nearly seven-month hiatus. What happened? This "lawyer's letter controversy" seems to reveal the reason:
1. Poor technical performance and hindered development.
Arweave founder Sam Williams created the public computing network blockchain AO, which was initially touted as a competitor to Google Cloud and Amazon. Its TGE (Trading General Equity) event generated significant buzz and indeed drove a significant surge in AR's price, from $3.6 to $49. However, AO has been declining since the TGE, with its current market capitalization at approximately $64 million.
One community member analyzed that at the time, community projects were very enthusiastic and wanted to follow Arweave to make a big push, but ended up being "punched down." AO's performance was poor, and community members withdrew, and AO gradually faded into obscurity.
2. Arweave ecosystem management is chaotic and the community cohesion is insufficient.
Judging from the voice of the community, some project parties have expressed many dissatisfactions with Sam Williams, which has also led to a decline in the cohesion of the Arweave ecosystem. The final result is: it cannot keep up with the rapidly changing industry and gradually falls behind.
In summary, AR is currently priced at $7.80, with an FDV of approximately $500 million. As a leading storage provider, Arweave's future development warrants continued attention. We will also continue to monitor the outcome of this "lawyer's letter dispute."
