What is Ethereum Plasma?

One of Ethereum Blockchain’s most important problems is scalability. Restrictions on storage space and speed that the network faces simultaneously impede the use of this network on a much larger global scale.

Ethereum Plasma was introduced by Joseph Poon and Vitalik Buterin, who are also the founders of Ethereum. In the last quarter of 2017, solution techniques for scalability for the Ethereum Blockchain were created as a theory. On the other hand, Joseph Poon, together with Thaddeus Dryja, made significant contributions to the realization of the concept of “Lightning Network”, the scalability solution mentioned in 2015 for Bitcoin. Although both Lightning Network and Plasma have been created as solutions to the problem, both have different features and operating mechanisms in themselves.

How Does Ethereum Plasma Work?

The main purpose of Ethereum Plasma is to create a system of parallel chains that allows as little interaction or communication as possible with the essential chain (Ethereum Blockchain). Such a structure is designed to work as a kind of blockchain tree in such a way that the large number of small chains is placed on top of the actual chain and become a regular hierarchical structure. These small chains are called plasma chains.

Plasma was built using smart contract and the Merkle tree as a structure, and therefore made it possible to create an unlimited plasma chain (child chain), which is essentially similar to Ethereum Blockchain. Numerous chains may be formed on each plasma chain. This creates a structure similar to that of the Merkle tree.

Basically, each Plasma, child chain, is a smart, customizable contract that is programmed to work individually to address different requirements. This shows that the chains can exist and operate separately from each other. Thus, Plasma will make it easier for companies and businesses to create scalability solutions in different forms according to their needs.

In all these cases, if Plasma is successfully created and adapted to the Ethereum network, the base chain will become much less congested, since each Plasma chain will be designed to work for specific targets that are incompatible with the targets of the underlying chain. As a result, Plasma chains will relieve the load of the main chains.

Misuse Precautions

The communication between the plasma chains and the main chain is ensured together with the misuse precautions. In this case, it is the duty of the main chain to ensure a high level of network security and to prevent malicious activities.