Yes, slightly. Decoding adds a few milliseconds per request. For high-traffic sites, use opcache (with the loader loaded first) to cache the decoded bytecode.
If you want, I can:
Various third-party sites and developers on platforms like GitHub claim to offer decoding services for versions 7.1 through 8.2. ioncube decoder php 7.2
Developers use this tool to protect their source code. Yes, slightly
