In today's battlefield of Layer 2, which seems to have been completely divided by Optimism and ZK-Rollup, Vitalik Buterin has recently been frequently writing about Plasma.
Many people feel confused: “@Plasma Wasn't this outdated technology eliminated in 2018?”
“Why do we still need Plasma with Rollup?”
The answer lies in the ultimate challenge of blockchain scalability—the game between data availability (DA) and cost.
Today, we break down the logic of Plasma's “resurrection” and how it will change the competitive landscape of L2.
1. Echoes of History: The Death of Plasma
To see things clearly, we must go back to 2017. At that time, Plasma was the “crown prince” of Ethereum's scalability.
Its vision is grand: to establish countless sidechains (subchains) that only return the final result (Merkle Root) to the Ethereum mainnet.
It died in a fatal UX (User Experience) black hole:
In the old version of Plasma, if the chain operator acts maliciously (for example, withholding data), users wanting to withdraw assets to the mainnet must undergo a long and complex 'Exit Game'. Users need to download and verify the entire chain's historical data to prove 'this money is mine'.
This is practically unfeasible. Imagine, to retrieve 100U, you need to download hundreds of GB of data to litigate against the operator. Hence, safer Rollups, which keep data on-chain, have emerged and swept Plasma into the historical trash heap.
Two, Mechanical Deification: How ZK technology changes the rules of the game
The revival of Plasma is not because the old logic has improved, but because new technology—ZK-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Proofs)—has matured.
Vitalik's new idea is to use ZK proofs to replace the original data verification.
No need to download full data anymore: ZK proofs can directly mathematically confirm 'the state transition is valid'. Even if users do not have all transaction data, as long as they verify the ZK proof, they can be assured that their funds are secure.
Instant withdrawals: ZK has solved the trust issue, eliminating the originally lengthy challenge period of 7 days or even longer.
Extreme compression: Previously, a large amount of data needed to be uploaded to prevent malicious behavior, but now only a tiny proof needs to be uploaded.
In summary: ZK allows Plasma to discard the crutch of 'security being hard to verify' and stand up again.
Three, Why is Rollup still not enough? (The Ecological Niche of Plasma)
You might ask: 'Since Rollup is so good, why bother with Plasma?'
The core issue is cost.
Current Rollups (even the cheapest) still need to publish the compressed transaction data to Ethereum (Call Data). This 'toll' accounts for over 90% of L2 costs.
For a transfer of 1000 ETH, a fee of 0.5U is acceptable.
But for a purchase of a game item costing 0.1U, or each check-in of DePIN devices, a fee of 0.5U remains exorbitant.
Plasma is a solution that 'does not upload transaction data at all'.
It only uploads the state root. This means that whether there are 100 transactions or 1 million transactions on-chain, it consumes almost the same mainnet Gas.
Rollup is for 'general computation' and 'financial security';
Plasma is for 'extreme low cost' and 'unlimited throughput'.
Four, Endgame Prediction: The Future of Hybrid Architecture
The future Ethereum L2 landscape will not be dominated by Rollup alone but will be a layered hybrid architecture:
Heavy Asset Layer (Rollup): DeFi, lending, large asset management. This requires complete compatibility with EVM and the highest level of security, for which users are willing to pay a certain fee.
High-Frequency Interaction Layer (Plasma / Validium): Payments, Web3 games, DePIN, social networks. This requires TPS and 0 Gas experience, with security guaranteed by ZK and data stored off-chain.
Five, Investment and Observation Perspectives
For investors and developers, Plasma's return releases two signals:
Focusing on ZK tracks, 'non-Rollup' applications: Projects dedicated to solving high-frequency trading through Validium or Plasma architecture (such as specific application chains and game-specific chains) may face valuation reassessment.
Ethereum's modularization is more thorough: This once again confirms Ethereum's determination to only serve as the 'settlement layer' and 'security layer'.
Plasma is not a dead ember revived, but a rebirth from the ashes. It no longer attempts to be an 'Ethereum killer' or a 'universal scaling solution', but precisely targets the trillion-dollar market of large-scale consumer applications that Rollup has overlooked.
