Ethereum's Rollups: The Gold Standard, But Plasma Requires Revisiting According to Buterin

Revisiting Plasma for Ethereum Layer 2 Scaling

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, suggests that teams currently working on zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVMs) should revisit the once-prominent Ethereum layer 2 scaling solution, Plasma.

Invented in 2017, Plasma diverts data and computation — except deposits, withdrawals and Merkle roots — to an off-chain environment. However, it was superseded by optimistic and zero-knowledge (ZK)-rollups as these solutions offered cheaper client-side data storage costs and security properties that “cannot be matched,” according to Buterin.

Buterin stated that rollups remain the “gold standard,” but Plasma is an “underrated design space” that shouldn’t be forgotten. He believes that Plasma can be a significant security upgrade for chains that would otherwise be validiums. The improvements in ZK-proofs make it more viable as a scaling solution, addressing the past limitations of Plasma.

Adapting Plasma for applications beyond payments has also proven to be a challenge before ZK-proofs entered the mainstream. Buterin acknowledged this but expects the Ethereum layer 2 ecosystem to evolve with diverse technological approaches.

Plasma’s Iterations and Movement Away

Minimal Viable Plasma, Plasma Cash, and Plasma Cashflow are among the iterations that have stemmed from Plasma. Although Polygon Labs implemented Plasma in 2019, the movement away from it was partially attributed to Plasma Group ceasing work on Ethereum-based scalability in January 2020.

Market Impact

OMG Network’s token spiked 28.6% following Buterin’s post but has since fallen 14.3%. This shows how influential Buterin’s comments are on the market.

Hot Take: Reassessing Layer 2 Scaling Solutions

Vitalik Buterin’s call to revisit Plasma as a potential layer 2 scaling solution presents an exciting opportunity for developers and users alike. As technology evolves, it’s essential to re-evaluate existing solutions and explore new constructions to simplify the developer experience and protect users’ funds. Keep an eye on how this conversation will shape the future of Ethereum’s layer 2 ecosystem!

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