Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S14W1 -Plasma Chains

Some weeks ago, the steemit engagement contest here on this community was about layer 2 Blockchain where we explained what it was and some examples of it. It was stated that layer 2 chains help to resolve the major problems inherent with layer 1 blockchain. Some of these problems were scalability, speed of transaction processing, transaction fees etc. Among the examples of layer 2 Blockchain mentioned was plasma chain.

So this weeks topic is going to explain more about what plasma chain is and how it helps with scalability, speed and cost of transaction processing.

What is a plasma chain in the context of blockchain? And how do plasma chains help solve blockchain scalability issues?

If we remember, Bitcoin and Ethereum chains have major problems of scalability and transaction per second. This is a great inhibition in the adoption of these chains as a global means of payment.

So to help solve this issue, a plasma chain protocol is required. The plasma chain protocol is a chain that runs on the Ethereum main chain which provides solution for scalability problem.

It does this by gathering data and processing them off chain using its own mechanism in validating the transactions.

Plasma chains can be referred to as baby or child chain, since it is hosted on the Ethereum main net, thus benefitting from the security and protection from fraud which is provided by the
Main chain.

So it is a layer 2 chain but deployed on the main chain to solve scalability problem. This is made possible by the use of smart contracts running on the main chain.

Like I said earlier, the protocol gathers data from the root chains, takes it off chain, executes and processes the transaction based on its validation protocol and then returns the processed data to the main chain. This takes off a lot of data from the main chain, allowing more space within it, hence increasing the speed at which the main chain runs.

Presently, the processing speed of Ethereum is between 15 to 20 transactions per second, making scalability a problem. Not only that, the Blockchain requires so many p2p nodes to authenticate whatever is done on the blockchain.

But plasma chains do not verify all the transactions, rather, processing is done off the mainnet, relieving the nodes from verifying transactions.

This off chain processing of transactions leads to maximum speed and reduced cost of transaction. It only requires just one validator to verify and process all transactions, making it faster.

After the processing and validation of transactions off line, the plasma chain takes it back to the Ethereum mainnet, if it wants to take advantage of the mainnet security without breaking it's protocols.

To do this, the operator validating and responsible for block production in the plasma chain, would frequently publish what is known as state Commitments.

A State Commitment is a way of committing a statement on the chain without letting the other party know. This is normally cryptographic in nature. Once this commitment is made, the values cannot be changed.

To make this possible, commitments are done using merkle roots.

Merkle roots are cryptographic values that helps to compact big amount of data, thus using one root to represent all the information in a block.

So the entity operator of the plasma chain uses the merkle root to inform the Ethereum mainnet of the current state of the plasma chain at a particular point in time.

Remember, this is done to ensure that the security of the main chain is taken advantage of by the plasma chain, ensuring that it is not compromised.

So in summary, the plasma chain is designed to work as a tree. It's various child chains are built on the main chain. It functions using smart contracts and merkle trees, creating an opportunity for many baby chains to be created.

Since the child chains uses smart contracts, it helps the developers to tailor it to their needs and apply it for different use cases.

What is the main difference between a plasma chain and the main blockchain?

Plasma chain	main chain
This is the baby chain that is reliant on the main chain to work	The main chain can operate alone without the plasma chain.
It makes use of smart contracts built on the main chain	these uses the original source codes for its processing and execution of transactions.
It processes and executes its transaction off chain	the transaction processing is done on chain.
It requires just an entity or operator to validate the transaction	Requires different peer 2 peer nodes to validate and verify transactions.
It uses Merkle trees to compress large amount of data into a block	the blocks are filled based on the total number of transactions it was originally meant to hold.
It is less decentralized	It is more decentralized.
It has higher scalability	it has lower scalability.
It has very high transaction speed	It has low transaction speed.
Low transaction fee	has high transaction fees

Are there any concrete examples of applications or projects using plasma chains successfully?

Plasma chains have been seen and agreed upon by many developers as a solution to scalability problems and can be used for online payment systems etc.

However, we don't have so many projects that have adopted it yet.

But one of the projects that are using the plasma chain is the OMG (OmiseGo) . This project is a payment solution. It is an online exchange and payment platform. It was built on the Ethereum network and run via smart contract by its child chain(plasma).

Others are still on the pipeline to be executed yet.

How could the potential integration of plasma chains on the Steem Blockchain influence the speed of transactions and associated costs?

The Steem Blockchain is doing wonderfully well with scalability, transaction speed and cost. However, a little more upgrade would not be bad, provided it will improve the functioning of the Blockchain.

If a plasma chain is integrated into the steem Blockchain, we are really in for a ride. It will further improve the Blockchain scalability, cost of transaction will almost be zero and transaction speed would be faster.

Are there any plans or discussions within the Steem Blockchain community regarding the exploration or implementation of plasma chains?

I cannot say much about that. The Steem community I know have not said anything of that sort. I am aware of the SMTs which can be seen in the whitepaper. Making it possible for individuals to create their own tokens seemlessly.

Additionally, there is provision for the improvement of the Blockchain to enhance its transaction execution to 10000TPS. With this provision, there is every possibility that exploring the plasma chain and implementing it on the steem Blockchain can also be a reality in the future. However, I look forward to plasma chain being implemented as it will improve the steem Blockchain a lot.

Conclusion

The world is seriously embracing Blockchain and the solutions to man's problems which it provides. Hence, plasma chains will aid a lot in making transactions faster, less costly and scalable.

I invite @sahmie @steemdoctor1 and @yancar to take part. The contest is here. All the best to you all!