Developed by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon, Plasma Chains function as a framework for deploying child blockchains (or Plasma chains) that are anchored to the Ethereum main chain. By offloading a subset of transactions from the Ethereum main chain to these child chains, it aims to significantly increase the network's transaction capacity while maintaining low fees. Transactions on these child chains can be executed faster as they do not require the same level of computation and verification as those conducted on the main Ethereum chain. Additionally, Plasma allows users to submit proofs of transactions to the main chain, ensuring security and integrity.