Scalability is one of the main problems of the Ethereum blockchain. The capacity and speed limitations the network currently faces prevent greater global use of this network.

Ethereum Plasma was put forward by Ethereum co-founders Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon. The idea was created in August 2017 as a scalability solution technique for the Ethereum blockchain. Joseph Poon is also responsible for creating the Lightning Network concept, a scalability solution for Bitcoin that was introduced in 2015, together with Thaddeus Dryja. Although both Plasma and Lightning Network are offered as scalability solutions for blockchains, they both have their own unique features and working mechanisms.

This article will provide brief information about Ethereum Plasma, but it should be noted that Plasma is not a project in itself, but rather an off-chain scalability technique or a main framework that can be implemented in different ways by different research groups or companies to create scalable applications.

  

How does plasma work?

The main idea of ​​Ethereum Plasma is to create a structure of sidechains that will interact or communicate with the main chain (in this case, the Ethereum blockchain) in the least possible way. Such a structure is designed to work as a blockchain tree, which is a hierarchical order in which many smaller chains are placed on top of the main chain. These smaller chains are also called Plasma chains or child chains.

The plasma structure is built through the use of smart contracts and Merkle trees, making it possible to create countless child chains that are essentially small copies of the actual Ethereum blockchain. More chains can be created on top of each child chain, creating a tree-like structure.

Essentially, each Plasma child chain is a customizable smart contract designed to work individually to cater to different needs. This means that chains can exist and operate independently of each other. As a result, Plasma will thus enable businesses and companies to create scalability solutions in different ways for their own contexts and needs.

So, if Plasma can be successfully developed and implemented into the Ethereum network,  the main chain will become less congested as each child chain will be designed to work for certain specific purposes unrelated to the goals of the main chain. As a result, child chains will ease the workload on the main chain.

  

Fraud Precautions

Communication between child chains and the root chain is secured by anti-fraud measures, meaning that the root chain is responsible for keeping the network secure and punishing malicious actors.

Each child chain has its own mechanism for validating blocks and a specific implementation of fraud resistance that can be built on top of different consensus algorithms. The most commonly used consensus algorithms are Proof of Work, Proof of Stake and Proof of Authority.

Fraud protections ensure that in the event of any malicious activity, users can report dishonest nodes and exit the trade while preserving their own capital (this requires an interaction with the main chains). In other words, fraud prevention Plasma is used as a mechanism by which child chains can complain about their parent chain or root chain.


MapReduce

The Plasma whitepaper also mentions a very interesting application called MapReduce computations. Simply put, MapReduce is a set of functions that are very useful for data calculation and data organization across multiple databases.

In the context of Plasma, these databases are blockchains, and the tree-like structure of the chains allows for the use of MapReduce as a way to facilitate data validation within the chain tree. In this way, the operating efficiency of the network is greatly increased.


Mass exit problem

One of the main problems with Plasma is the Mass Exit problem, a scenario where many users try to exit their Plasma chain at the same time, loading the root chain and causing a massive network congestion. This can be triggered by malicious activity, network attack, or  other critical failure created by a Plasma child chain (or group of chains).


Conclusion

Plasma is essentially an off-chain solution that aims to greatly increase the overall performance of the  Ethereum network by creating a tree-like structure created by a large number of smaller chains. These chains can ease the load on the main chain, increasing the amount of transactions made per second.

The hierarchical model of interconnected blockchains introduced by Plasma has great potential and is currently being tested by numerous research groups. Combined with proper development, Plasma will likely increase the efficiency of the Ethereum blockchain and provide a better infrastructure for the deployment of decentralized applications. Moreover, this idea can be accepted and implemented by other cryptocurrency networks against scalability problems that may be encountered in the future.

Ethereum plasma is an open source project and its public source can be found on GitHub. Besides Ethereum, many other cryptocurrencies and Github resources currently work with Plasma. OmiseGO, Loom Network, and FourthStateLabs are a few examples of this. For more detailed and technical information, you can check out the official Plasma whitepaper or the LearnPlasma site.


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