One of the biggest concerns that the Ethereum Blockchain network has is low scalability. The limitations faced by the network in terms of capacity and speed prevent it from being adopted on a global scale.

Ethereum Plasma was proposed by Ethereum currency co-founder Vitalik Buterin in partnership with Joseph Poon. The concept was born in August 2017 as a technical solution to the scalability problem on the Ethereum Blockchain network. Together with Thaddeus Dryja, Joseph Poon was also responsible for the conception of the Lightnin Network, which, like Plasma, is a scalability solution, proposed for Bitcoin in 2015. Although Plasma and the Lightning Network have the same concepts for solving scalability problems in Blockchain networks, each of them has distinct mechanisms and particularities.

This article will briefly introduce Ethereum Plasma, but keep in mind that Plasma alone is not a project, but rather an off-chain scaling technique or framework for building scaling applications, which can be implemented in varying ways by different research groups or companies.

How Does Plasma Work?

The main idea of ​​Ethereum Plasma is to establish a platform of side chains (parallel chains) that will communicate and interact in the most moderate way possible with the main one (in this case, the Ethereum Blockchain). Such a structure is being designed to operate like a Blockchain tree, which is hierarchically organized so that numerous smaller chains can be created based on the main one. These small chains are also known as Plasma Chains or Child Chains.

The Plasma structure is built using smart contracts and Merkle Trees, enabling the creation of an unlimited number of child chains – which are, essentially, smaller copies of its relative, the Ethereum Blockchain. At the top of each child chain, more chains can be created and this is what sets up a tree-like structure.

Basically, each Plasma child chain is a customizable smart contract that can be designed to work in a unique way, serving different needs. This means that each chain can coexist and operate independently. Eventually, Plasma will make it possible for companies and businesses to implement scalability solutions in several different ways, according to their specific areas and needs.

Therefore, if Plasma is successful in its development and implementation within the Ethereum network, the main chain will be less likely to become congested because each child chain would be designed to work in different ways in an attempt to achieve specific goals – which are not always directly related to those in the main chain. As a consequence, child chains will have the power to alleviate the general workload of the main chain.

Anti-Fraud Tests

Communication between child chains and main chains is guaranteed by anti-fraud proofs, as the main chain is responsible for keeping the network secure and punishing malicious agents.

Each child chain has its own mechanism for validating blocks and a particular anti-fraud implementation, which can be built based on different consensus algorithms. The most common are Proof of Work, Proof of Stake and Proof of Authority.

Anti-fraud proofs ensure that in cases of malicious activity, users have the chance to report rogue nodes, protect their funds and exit the transaction (which involves an interaction with the main chain). In other words, anti-fraud proofs are used as a mechanism by which Plasma child chains have a chance to lodge a complaint with their main chain.

MapReduce

The Plasma whitepaper also presents a very interesting application of the well-known calculation called MapReduce. Basically speaking, MapReduce is a set of very useful functions for organizing and computing data within various information centers.

In the context of Plasma, these information centers are Blockchains, and the tree-like structures enable the application of MapReduce as a way of facilitating the verification of data within this chain, which satisfactorily increases the efficiency of the network.

Problema do Mass Exit

One of Plasma's biggest points of concern is the Mass Exit problem, which refers to a scenario where several users try to leave your Plasma chain at the same time, causing overload and congestion on the main network. This can be motivated by fraudulent activities, network attacks or critical flaws that Plasma chains can present.

Conclusion

Plasma is essentially an off-chain solution that seeks to significantly increase the total performance of the Ethereum network by creating a tree-like structure with several smaller chains. These chains would ease the burden on the main chain, which would have the power to process more transactions per second.

A hierarchical model of interconnected Blockchains as proposed by Plasma has great potential and is currently being tested by several research groups. With proper development, Plasma will likely increase the efficiency of the Ethereum Blockchain as well as provide a better development platform for decentralized applications. Furthermore, the idea can be adapted and implemented by other cryptocurrency networks, as a way to escape future scalability problems.

Ethereum Plasma is an open project and public repository that can be found on GitHub. In addition to Ethereum, there are several other cryptocurrencies and repositories currently working with Plasma. We have OmiseGO, Loom Network and FourthStateLabs as some examples. For more technical and detailed information, you can find out by reading the Plasma Whitepaper or the LearnPlasma website.

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