Ethereum network congestion has been a long-standing issue for us, leading to a proliferation of Layer2 solutions. Today, I want to talk about the Plasma framework—once a popular technical solution that now receives less discussion compared to Arbitrum and Optimism.

Plasma is essentially building "child chains" on top of the Ethereum mainnet, moving a large number of transactions off-chain, and only recording key data and state commitments on the mainnet. It sounds a bit complex, but the core logic boils down to two words: layering.

The benefits of this design are obvious. First, performance skyrockets—there's no need to wait for the main chain to verify each transaction individually. Plasma chains can operate independently, achieving high throughput, and transaction fees decrease accordingly. Second, security is unassailable—your assets are ultimately protected by the Ethereum mainnet. If the operators on the Plasma side act maliciously, users can force the assets back to the mainnet through fraud proof mechanisms. It's like having an insurance policy—you don't have to fully trust the off-chain operators.

For any technical solution to survive long-term, it must be supported by a sound economic model and governance mechanism. This is also a key factor in determining how far Plasma can go.