{"id":3440,"date":"2017-10-09T14:15:25","date_gmt":"2017-10-09T21:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/?p=3440"},"modified":"2018-08-09T11:49:58","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T18:49:58","slug":"why-plasma-is-relevant-for-ethereum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coincentral.com\/why-plasma-is-relevant-for-ethereum\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Plasma is Relevant for Ethereum"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Ethereum <\/a>has some serious scaling issues. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since it\u2019s launch in mid-2015, the blockchain 2.0-darling has struggled to chug along; gasping for transaction breathing room with every successful initial coin offering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s do some quick math by comparing Ethereum\u2019s current capabilities to a flagship social utility app such as Facebook. <\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, the Ethereum network currently caps out at around 13 transactions per second; ETH-based tokens such as OMG, Golem, & Civic cap out at around half of that, 7 transactions per second. An app of Facebook\u2019s size makes around ~200K API requests per second. In Ethereum world, instead of API requests, users pay ether \u201cgas\u201d to run smart contracts. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This means Ethereum transaction capability needs to grow by an astounding multiple of x25,000 to handle the network traffic of a decentralized app comparable to Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n

Running these smart contracts counts as a transaction. This \u201cgas\u201d has a maximum limit set per block in the Ethereum protocol.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simply increasing the block size to allow for a higher amount of gas won\u2019t work because it sacrifices decentralization — only industry-size miners could afford to participate. In addition, whatever scaling solution we introduce must also not sacrifice a reasonable amount of security. The challenge is what Vitalik calls the \u201cscalability trilemma\u201d: <\/span>building a system that fulfills \u201cdecentralization\u201d, \u201cscalability\u201d, and \u201csecurity\u201d.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Enter Plasma, Vitalik\u2019s & the Lightning Network\u2019s Justin Poon\u2019s scaling solution for Ethereum. <\/span><\/p>\n

Quietly released mid-August, the Plasma whitepaper (<\/span>https:\/\/plasma.io\/<\/span><\/a>) \u00a0details a collection of standard smart contracts used to create a tree of side-chains aptly called Plasma chains. These Plasma blockchain trees allow for off-chain transactions; transactions that only periodically commit hashed updated balances to its adult or root chain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plasma, the collection of smart contracts, includes a multitude of key innovations that together make up a powerful tool in the battle towards scaling Ethereum\u2019s capacity. Among these innovations are computation concepts such as MapReduce, an evolved Proof-of-Stake consensus proposal, & submittable fraud proofs.<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to better visualize how and why Plasma is relevant to Ethereum\u2019s scaling issues, we must first understand the difference between Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS).<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>PoW vs PoS<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"plasmacontracts\"<\/p>\n

The POW vs. POS debate has & will continue to rage forward. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the Bitcoin world, every single transaction that occurs within the network is cryptographically verified. This verification method, also known as a consensus algorithm, is the heart & soul of the blockchain revolution because it allows actors to interact, transact & trust complete strangers in a decentralized system without forgoing one\u2019s identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bitcoin, as the first purveyor of blockchain technology, set the standard for a consensus algorithm by introducing their Proof-of-Work protocol. Proof-of-Work, appropriately named, requires literal computation work to verify a batch of transactions. <\/span>This is why you have thousands of computers using electricity around the world to \u201cmine\u201d coins<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Proof-of-Stake, as the name implies, <\/span>is a consensus algorithm that relies on users within the Plasma chain to stake some token amount in return for interest at some later point in time. <\/b>Stakers not only purchase stake bonds, but in doing so they also commit themselves to propagating & broadcasting the exact same number of blocks when said bonds are due.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why would one stake? <\/span><\/p>\n

Simple, return on investment. When someone within a Plasma chain puts up stake, what they\u2019re really doing is purchasing a stake bond. At a later point in time, like any regular bond, the staker receives back his\/her stake(principle) with some additional interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where does the additional interest come from? From people within the Plasma chain paying ether \u201cgas\u201d to run smart contracts. <\/span><\/p>\n

Luckily, with Plasma, the originator reserves the right to use whichever consensus algorithm he\/she sees fit; he\/she can select good-ole Proof-of-Work, Proof-of-Stake, or some other consensus algorithim such as Proof-of-Authority. While not all Plasma chains will opt for Proof-of-Stake bonds, it\u2019s clear that the intention is for the majority of Plasma chains to implement POS.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Solving Ethereum\u2019s Scaling Issues <\/span><\/h2>\n

Covering everything that Plasma has to offer can be quite pedantic and would take far too long (though if you\u2019re interested I certainly tried to so here<\/a>: ). However, if we\u2019re limiting the scope of Plasma\u2019s advantages to pure scaling, one key feature towers above the rest: <\/span>MapReduce computations<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

MapReduce is a creative way of organizing & computing across clusters of databases that was first introduced In 2004 by then-Google employees Jeffrey Dean & Sanjay Ghemawat. They describe it as such:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMapReduce is a programming model & an associated implementation for processing & generating large data sets. Users specify a map function that processes a key\/value pair to generate a set of intermediate key\/value pairs, & a reduce function that merges all intermediate values associated with the same intermediate key.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Mapping takes a set of data and converts it into another set of data, where individual elements are simplified into key\/value pairs. Reducing takes the output from the mapping step as an input & further combines those data tuples into a smaller set of tuples. The goal of MapReduce is to effectively work across numerous clusters of databases in parallel with a two-step process: Mapping, & then Reducing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"mapReducePlasma\"
Source: https:\/\/blog.sqlauthority.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Opting for a tree structure allows Plasma to run MapReduce computations. Instead of clusters of databases, we run MapReduce on Plasma chain trees.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is by far Plasma\u2019s most important scaling solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Progress and What to Expect in the Future<\/span><\/h2>\n

As mentioned in the Plasma whitepaper this is likely far from the final, optimal implementation of Plasma that we\u2019ll see live on Ethereum. Plasma is hopefully headed to a Github repository near you. <\/span><\/p>\n

With the ICO market heating up, it\u2019s only a matter of time before a decentralized app adapts a massive following and really pushes Ethereum to its technical limits. Plasma has the chance to change Ethereum from a project of great interest, to an environment of ultimate decentralized utility. Get ready for an interesting ride.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn more about the important new solution called Plasma and how it can solve Ethereum\u2019s scaling and latency issues by offering instant transactions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":3446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"iawp_total_views":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5714],"tags":[5774],"class_list":{"0":"post-3440","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-ethereum"},"wppr_data":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Plasma is Relevant for Ethereum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn more about the important new solution called Plasma and how it can solve Ethereum\u2019s scaling and latency issues by offering instant transactions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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