What is Plasma and how does it improve blockchain payment scalability?

2 How does Plasma work?

Plasma works by creating a hierarchical structure of chains, where the main chain is the root and the child chains are the branches. Each child chain has its own state, which is a snapshot of the balances and transactions of its users. The state of each child chain is periodically committed to the main chain, creating a proof of its validity and finality. This proof is called a Plasma block, and it contains a hash of the state of the child chain and a Merkle root of its transactions. The main chain validates the Plasma blocks and stores them in its history, but it does not need to execute or verify the transactions of the child chains.

3 What are the benefits of Plasma?

Plasma offers several benefits for blockchain payment scalability and performance. First, it reduces the load on the main chain, by offloading transactions to the child chains, which can handle more throughput and lower latency. Second, it lowers the fees for the users, by allowing them to transact on the child chains, which have less competition and congestion than the main chain. Third, it preserves the security and decentralization of the main chain, by using it as the ultimate source of truth and enforcement for the child chains, and by allowing users to exit the child chains in case of malfunctions or attacks.

4 What are the challenges of Plasma?

Plasma also faces some challenges and limitations that need to be addressed. One of them is the data availability problem, which occurs when a child chain operator becomes malicious or unresponsive, and withholds or deletes the data of the child chain, preventing the users from verifying or exiting the chain. Another challenge is the mass exit problem, which occurs when a large number of users try to exit a child chain at once, creating a bottleneck and a risk of losing funds on the main chain. A third challenge is the user experience problem, which occurs when users have to deal with multiple chains, wallets, and interfaces, and face complexity and friction when moving between them.

5 How is Plasma evolving?

Plasma is not a fixed or final protocol, but a dynamic and evolving framework that can accommodate different designs and implementations. Since the original proposal of Plasma by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon in 2017, several variants and improvements have been developed by the community, such as Plasma Cash, Plasma Debit, Plasma MVP, Plasma XT, and Plasma Group. These variants aim to address some of the challenges and trade-offs of Plasma, by introducing features such as non-fungible tokens, partial exits, checkpoints, fraud proofs, and optimistic rollups. Plasma is also compatible and complementary with other layer 2 solutions, such as state channels, sidechains, and zk-rollups.

6 How can you use Plasma?

Plasma is not a standalone product or service, but a protocol that enables developers and users to create and access scalable and interoperable blockchain applications. If you are a developer, you can use Plasma to build your own child chain or integrate with an existing one, using the tools and frameworks provided by the Plasma community. If you are a user, you can use Plasma to access and transact on the child chains that support your use cases and preferences, using the wallets and interfaces that support Plasma. Some examples of Plasma-based applications include gaming, prediction markets, identity, and micropayments.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?