Blockchain congested is a major indicator that the market has surpassed the test phase of deployment and is now in an operational phase. As many new users, applications and assets vie for block space simultaneously, the networks will slow down, cause higher fees and less dependable confirmations subsequently. The issues being experienced do not stem from a lack of interest, but rather highlight the need for improved infrastructure. Plasma seeks to overcome these limitations by developing a new approach to transaction processing and providing an avenue for blockchains to scale without compromising the security or trust associated with the Blockchain.
Why congestion remains a structural problem
Historically, most base-layer blockchains were built to offer the highest levels of security and decentralisation to their customers. While this infrastructure is critical, it creates competition for the very limited on-chain resources available for processing transactions. During peak periods of activity (stablecoin transfers, on-chain trading and/or large volumes of traffic to applications), networks will become congested due to the increased number of users at any given time. This increase in traffic leads to increased costs associated with transaction fees, and often results in small transactions being priced out of the market. Most importantly, because of the potential for congestion during peak periods, it is imperative that the market develop purpose built scaling solutions that effectively address congestion as a structural problem, rather than as a temporary problem.
How Plasma reduces pressure on the base layer
The importance of Plasma in transferring a larger portion of transactional activities off the primary chain. Securely securing nature of the primary chain with each transaction allowing for the processing of transactions using dedicated execution environments rather than directly on the base layer creates a more efficient means of settling transactions. By using dedicated environments, all transactional activities are processed within those environments and then batched together and submitted back to the primary chain in a verified and summarized fashion, therefore, drastically lowering the need for the amount of data and computation required on the primary chain. Lower congestion, faster transaction processing times and more predictable fees are identified outcomes of this technique.
A better, more straightforward way to explain this concept could be to think of Plasma as a means for traffic management; instead of creating a single roadway through which to force all traffic through, Plasma has developed a means by which to handle large amounts of traffic in separated, structured routes and report back to the primary chain with the verification of results. The primary chain continues to be the final results authority but is no longer required to account for each transactional activity daily.
Why this matters for users and developers
The congestion situation is not only a quantitative measure of throughput on the blockchain; reducing congestion improves usability. For users using the Plasma scaling solution, users experience an improved throughput, reduced fees, and increased ease of performing transactions on the blockchain. Developers using Plasma, on the other hand, are able to build applications that scale, supporting them with a stable platform and eliminating the concern of sudden growth in fees or slow transaction times. Therefore, the reliability of Plasma is particularly critical for applications that are payment-focused and require both high levels of consistent throughput and speed when processing payments.
In the long-term, Plasma will allow the blockchain ecosystem to continue to grow and will enable developers to build applications that operate in a consistent manner and provide value to users as block sizes are adjusted over time.
From a blockchain infrastructure level, Plasma represents a long-term solution for scalability and addresses the scalability challenge from a sustainability perspective. For plasma, providing long-term solutions for scalability and establishing a sustainable framework for the widespread adoption of blockchain technology is paramount to developing a blockchain ecosystem that is meaningful to users, rather than just providing bursts of transactional activity.
