Plasma protocol compatible ETH Exchange Platform

WIP!

Plasma protocol DEMO:

https://plasma.bankex.com

Source-code

https://github.com/BankEx/plasma_client

Public beta 1 features

The public beta will be deployed on Rinkeby network. Link: TBA

For Beta 1 only basic functions are enabled with non-optimized UI:

1. Deposit on the main chain

2. Transact in Plasma chain - split, merge, transfer, express withdraw

3. Only express withdraw is allowed for user experience - it's a two-step process:

   Burn ETH in Plasma by submitting output to address 0x0

   Submit proof of such transaction to the smart contract on the main chain to withdraw on the main chain

Important features and limitations

• The function of Web3 to sign arbitrary data is used to proof your ownership of the address.

• Signature format is different from the signature format of Ethereum transactions, and any derived transaction can not be used to make fraudulent transaction on the main chain

• Sum of the outputs is strictly equal to the sum of the inputs

• As there is no standalone client to download and verify blocks, so there is no functionality to proof invalid transactions using the smart contract on the main chain. Wait until Beta 2

• UTXOs are not automatically merged into Beta 1

Clarification

Initial implementation of a single server-side "Operator" service (with some extra functionality for testing) and v0.1 smart contract for Ethereum blockchain that can be used to enforce proper behavior in case of disputes.

At the moment the groundwork is done (convenience functions + cryptography) in smart contract to continue writing required processes "Start -> (Challenge?) -> Complete".

Implemented challenges:

1. Deposit -> No deposit published in Plasma chain? -> Start withdrawing for deposit? -> Challenge deposit withdraw? -> Finalize
2. Deposit -> Do few transactions -> Start UTXO withdraw -> Express withdraw / Normal withdraw
3. Prove double spending on Plasma chain
4. Prove spending the same output on Plasma and successfully withdrawing it
5. Prove funding without deposit event or double funding TX of the same deposit

Required challenges:

1. Proof of incorrect TX: signature doesn't correspond to spent UTXOs, or amount is invalid. Special check for trying to spend auxiliary transaction output of funding transaction.

What?

The task is to make blockchain transactions as fast as they can be applied virtually to any application.

How?

One of the possible solutions is Plasma - the prominent upgrade to Ethereum blockchain. Our approach is based on this conception.

Plasma Network Technical Concept

From a technical point of view Plasma blockchain - is just another blockchain, that can be efficiently settled to parent Ethereum chain and is well protected from the misbehavior of both Plasma operator and Plasma blockchain participants by smart-contract on Ethereum network.

Plasma chain itself has a straightforward structure with assets being undividable and transferred in full from the previous owner to the next one. The transaction has inputs and outputs, with few different types of transactions depending on the required function. For example, we propose type "Merge" to connect two inputs into one output in order to reduce the number of UTXOs that will be followed by the client. Full description will be given when the design is more stable. All chain logic is made using Ethereum crypto primitives - sha3, secp256k1 and 65-byte signatures allowing the use of ecrecover.

Block in Plasma network has a structure of Header: [BlockNumber, NumberOfTransactions, ParentHash, MerkleTreeRoot, PlasmaOperatorSignature], where

• ParentHash references to the previous block (by number)
• MerkleTreeRoot is root hash of a Merkle tree
• NumberOfTransactions transactions in this Plasma block and an array of transactions.

The header is submitted by Plasma network operator to the smart-contract on Ethereum chain. Blocks can only be sent one by one, with sequence numbering is enforced by contract. Any user of Ethereum network can deposit ETH to contract that will trigger, event and will allow Plasma network operator to make a funding transaction in a Plasma chain. Then users can freely transact in Plasma chain, with headers pushed to a parent contract in Ethereum.

When a user wants to settle one of his transactions to the main network, he initiates a withdraw on Ethereum network by providing the reference to the transaction (in the form of BlockNumber, TxNumberInBlock, OutputNumberInTX), full transaction and Merkle proof that this transaction was indeed included in that block. Parent contract checks a proof versus submitted root hash for this block. If validation was successful the process of withdrawing starts. After 24 hours it can be finalized. There is a particular kind of transaction in Plasma network that can speed up a process by efficiently burning the input (sending it to 0x0). If this block is not published by the operator, withdrawing can go as usual.

Technology in PoC

The concept is implemented using JS with conjunction on Web3 and ethereumjs/testrpc on a backend. For the sake of simplicity, all necessary functions are wrapped in REST API calls doing signatures on behalf of a predefined set of the address on a server. Further work will allow users to use wallet apps such as Metamask to initiate transactions in a Plasma network by making a signature on a client side and interacting with a parent contract on Ethereum network as usual.

Why Plasma?

Here at BankEx, we believe in the efficiency of offloading of some transactions from Ethereum blockchain to Plasma chains especially if the proper incentive is present for Plasma operators to behave appropriately (such incentive can be presented in the form of competing with other operators for obtaining end-users). Another advantage is flexibility of Plasma chain implementation as long as it can be effectively cross-checked by contract on a parent chain. With the new cryptographic primitive added in Metropolis fork, one can extend our PoC implementation with transactions utilizing ring signatures of zkSNARKs for the privacy of end user.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu or similar is preferable but can also be run on Mac OS X or Windows as well
• NodeJS version >= 8.9. Tested on 9.0

Installing

Repository Cloning

git clone https://github.com/BankEx/PlasmaETHexchange.git
cd PlasmaETHexchange

Running

npm install
npm run server

Usage

Backend localhost:8000/

Insomnia.json is an Insomnia workspace file with various testing functions, play with it.

!! May require some parameter changes in existing requests to comply with new output numbering.

Addresses:

User 1: 0xf62803ffaddda373d44b10bf6bb404909be0e66b

User 2: 0xcf78f18299eac0e0a238db7f4742ef433f98c85e

Operator (oracle): 0x405aaaa4bdcda14a0af295f3669459b6b0fc8104

Basic Plasma API description

Will be filled later

Running the tests

TBD

Code of Conduct

To have a more open and welcoming community, BankEx adheres to a code of conduct.

Communication 🔈

Bug reports, feature requests, patches, well-wishes are always welcome!

• If you need help, open an issue.
• If you found a bug, open an issue.
• If you have a feature request, open an issue.
• If you want to contribute, see Contributing section.

Contributing

I'd love to see your ideas for improving this library!

• The best way to contribute is by submitting a pull request.
• Take an inspiration at Plasma Official page
• Fork
• Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for details on our code of conduct, and the process for submitting pull requests to us.

Authors

• Alex Vlasov - Initial work - shamatar

See also the list of contributors who participated in this project.

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by Plasma protocol
• Given a push to our team on ETHWaterloo - World's Largest Ethereum Hackathon

License

PlasmaETHexchange is available under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.