Scalability of the blockchain has always been a major issue in the Ethereum network. Every day, this blockchain faces capacity and speed limitations. Such constraints prevent the network from expanding globally.

As a result, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the network with Joseph Poon, sought a solution and proposed the Ethereum Plasma protocol. The seeds of this idea were sown in August of 2017. Ethereum Plasma is a framework for developing scalable applications that uses off-chain scalability. This framework can be used in a variety of ways by different research groups or businesses.

Ethereum Plasma is a framework designed to enhance the scalability and efficiency of the Ethereum blockchain network. Proposed by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon in 2017, Plasma aims to alleviate congestion and reduce transaction fees by creating a network of interconnected side chains, or "child chains," that operate alongside the Ethereum main chain.

These child chains can execute transactions independently, handling a portion of the network's load. They periodically report to the Ethereum main chain, providing a summary of their activities, which helps maintain the overall security and integrity of the network. By offloading some of the computational burden onto these side chains, Ethereum Plasma aims to significantly increase the network's transaction throughput without compromising decentralization or security.

However, it's important to note that Ethereum Plasma is still a theoretical concept, and its implementation faces technical challenges and complexities. While it holds promise for scaling Ethereum to accommodate larger transaction volumes, its practical realization requires further research and development.