Ethereum Classic (ETC) is a hard fork of Ethereum (ETH) that launched in July 2016. Its main function is as a smart contract network, with the ability to host and support decentralized applications (DApps). Its native token is ETC.

Since its launch, Ethereum Classic has sought to differentiate itself from Ethereum, with the two networks’ technical roadmap diverging further and further from each other with time.

Ethereum Classic first set out to preserve the integrity of the existing Ethereum blockchain after a major hacking event led to the theft of 3.6 million ETH.

Ethereum Classic is in fact the legacy chain of Ethereum, and its true creators are therefore the original Ethereum developers — Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood.

A contentious hard fork on Ethereum occurred in July 2016, when participants disagreed over whether to revert the blockchain to cancel out the effects of a major hack. This impacted The DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) which had raised approximately $150 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) several months earlier.

Ethereum Classic came into being as the network which did not revert the chain. Developers state that there is no “official” team attached to the project, and that its “global development community is a permissionless 'do-ocracy,' where anyone can participate.”

Ethereum Classic’s main aim is to preserve the Ethereum blockchain as it originally was, without artificially countering the DAO hack.

Its appeal was first to those who disagreed with Ethereum’s response, but the legacy network has since gained a wider fan base, which include major investors such as Barry Silbert, CEO of investment firm Grayscale.

As a voluntary organization, the developers of ETC do not aim to turn the network into a for-profit entity. Users pay transaction fees as with Ethereum, and miners collect them based on work done as per the proof-of-work (PoW) mining algorithm.

Unlike Ethereum, Ethereum Classic has no plans to convert to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mining algorithm, while multiple developers continue to work on future improvements such as scaling solutions.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Ethereum (ETH) are two separate blockchain networks that share a common history but have since diverged in philosophy and development.

Ethereum Classic is the original version of Ethereum that was launched in 2015. It is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that allows developers to build and deploy decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Ethereum Classic secures its network using a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm.

Ethereum, on the other hand, is a fork of the original Ethereum blockchain created in 2016. It emerged as a response to a hack that caused the loss of millions of dollars worth of Ether. The Ethereum community implemented a hard fork to reverse the hack and return the stolen funds to their owners. As a result, two separate blockchains, Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC), were created.

One of the main differences between Ethereum Classic and Ethereum is their approach to governance. Ethereum has a more centralized system, with a core development team that makes decisions about the platform's future. In contrast, Ethereum Classic has a more decentralized approach to governance, with decisions made by the community through a consensus process.

Another key difference between the two is their development roadmap. Ethereum is focused on transitioning from a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm to a proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithm after The Merge. Ethereum Classic, on the other hand, has focused on maintaining its original PoW algorithm and staying true to its decentralized philosophy.

ETC began in a very similar technical state to ETH, with the exception of how the DAO hack transactions were handled.

Since launch, however, changes in tokenomics have occurred, with participants voting to cap the supply of ETC in December 2017. The maximum supply is thus 210,700,000 ETC, roughly ten times that of Bitcoin (BTC), while ETH has no cap.

ETC uses a PoW mining algorithm, which functions like Bitcoin — miners are rewarded with new coins for validating the blockchain in competition with each other. The ETC block reward decreases with time, with the next drop due at block 15,000,000, roughly in April 2022 — from 3.2 ETC to 2.56 ETC per block.

Ethereum Classic uses the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm. By resolving computationally challenging riddles to create and validate blocks of transactions, Ethereum Classic miners protect the network.

In this process, the state of all the data on the blockchain is recorded. The network moves on to the next block as long as every miner or node agrees on the order in which the blocks are created. This process is referred to as consensus.

As a minority chain, it has suffered regular attacks itself. These include several 51% attacks to gain control of mining hashrate and execute spurious transactions and double spend coins, the most recent of which occurred in August 2020.

Following a series of 51% attacks on the Ethereum Classic network in 2020, the underlying Ethash mining algorithm was changed. The event was called Thanos upgrade.

Miners use their hardware to solve complex mathematical equations and validate transactions on the Ethereum Classic network. The first miner to solve the equation and validate a new block receives a block reward in the form of ETC.

Miners use their hardware to solve complex mathematical equations and validate transactions on the Ethereum Classic network. The first miner to solve the equation and validate a new block receives a block reward in the form of ETC.

The network automatically adjusts the difficulty of mining Ethereum Classic every two weeks to maintain a stable block production rate. The difficulty is based on the total computational power of the network, and it becomes more challenging to mine ETC as more miners join the network.

ETC is a major market cap cryptocurrency and is freely tradable on a large number of major exchanges.

Pairs are available against stablecoins, other cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, while derivatives and institutional investment vehicles also exist. Exchanges that let you buy Ethereum Classic include Binance, OKEx and Huobi Global.

Crypto newbie? Read our easy guide to buying Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrency.

The all-time high of ETC was 176.16 USD on 2021-05-07, from which the coin is now down 86.81880108991825%. The all-time high price of Ethereum Classic (ETC) is 176.16. The current price of ETC is down 86.81880108991825% from its all-time high.

As of , there is currently 147.75M ETC in circulation. ETC has a maximum supply of 210.70M.

The current market cap of ETC is 3.43Bn. It is calculated by multiplying the current supply of ETC by its real-time market price of 23.22.

The all-time low of ETC was 0.45244601 , from which the coin is now up 5032.10404927651%. The all-time low price of Ethereum Classic (ETC) is 0.45244601. The current price of ETC is up 5032.10404927651% from its all-time low.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) has a market capitalization of $3.43Bn and is ranked #35 on CoinMarketCap. The cryptocurrency market can be highly volatile, so be sure to do your own research (DYOR) and assess your risk tolerance. Additionally, analyze Ethereum Classic (ETC) price trends and patterns to find the best time to purchase ETC.