Curve Finance has publicly accused PancakeSwap (CAKE) of using its StableSwap code without authorization, calling the alleged violation illegal and warning it has "historically shown to be unwise" for projects that took the same approach.
The accusation came days after PancakeSwap launched a new StableSwap feature on March 1, designed to offer lower slippage on stablecoin pairs.
The dispute adds to a pattern of code-licensing tensions in DeFi. Curve leveled near-identical accusations against Saddle Finance in 2021, which also launched a StableSwap implementation without prior licensing authorization.
What Happened
Curve posted on X: "Looks like you copied our code without asking. It is violation of its license. Not only it is illegal: historically it showed to be unwise for those who did it this way in other regards."
The protocol offered to engage PancakeSwap on licensing terms and potential collaboration. PancakeSwap responded briefly, saying: "We're reaching out to your team directly to discuss this."
No further public statements had been made by either party as of the time of writing. No legal action has been announced, and the specific version of Curve's code allegedly used has not been publicly identified by either protocol.
PancakeSwap's own documentation describes its existing StableSwap feature as "an implementation of Curve Finance's AMM" - though that acknowledgment may predate the current dispute and apply to an earlier, open-source version of Curve's algorithm.
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Why It Matters
The licensing ambiguity matters because Curve's code exists in multiple versions with different terms. Curve's original StableSwap algorithm was published under a permissive open-source license. Its newer stableswap-ng codebase was released under a Business Source License restricting commercial use for a defined period.
Which version PancakeSwap allegedly copied - and when - is central to the legal question.
PancakeSwap's CAKE token fell roughly 4% in the 24 hours following the allegation.
The protocol processed $2.36 trillion in trading volume in 2025, according to one industry review, and holds approximately $2 billion in combined TVL across its various pool types per DeFiLlama - though Curve's DEX TVL of $1.85 billion is comparable and growing.
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