What is Ethereum Classic (ETC)? What Are Its Differences with Ethereum?

Ethereum Classic is a distributed cryptocurrency platform that executes smart contracts and is open-source, decentralized, and blockchain-based. A breach of the Ethereum network resulted in the formation of the Ethereum Classic in 2016. The original Ethereum blockchain was divided into two halves, with Ethereum Classic being the older of the two and Ethereum being the newest. Smart contracts are self-executing autonomous digital apps that may function on their own as planned, based on the premise of “Code is Law.” Automated teller machines (ATMs) and the Bitcoin system are two examples of such applications.

Who is the creator of Ethereum Classic?

The white paper on which Ethereum is built was written by Vitalik Buterin, a Russian-Canadian computer programmer. When a group of developers disagreed with how the Ethereum blockchain was progressing, Ethereum Classic was born on July 20, 2016.

What was the point of contention?

There was simply Ethereum in the beginning. The DAO (short for “decentralized autonomous organization”) utilized Ethereum to launch what amounted to a venture capital fund. People from different walks of life may invest in ETH, make collective decisions about how to deploy the group’s assets, and (hopefully) participate in the rewards. Through the sale of tokens, it was able to raise more than $100 million.

However, there was a flaw in the fund’s coding that was quickly exploited. Millions of dollars in ETH were taken from the fund, causing concern among investors. Before the hackers could cash in the tokens, which constituted a significant chunk of Ethereum’s market worth at the time, developers had a 28-day window to come up with a solution.

Ethereum Classic’s Concerns

Despite the fact that both Ethereum and Ethereum Classic enable smart contracts and target the same market, Ethereum has grown in popularity as the more trustworthy of the two networks. In addition, Ethereum’s ETH is the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency, after only Bitcoin.

One of the main worries about Ethereum Classic is its possible scalability limits. The network can typically manage 15 transactions per second, which is significantly fewer than payment networks like Visa, which can handle over 1,000 transactions per second. Despite several software changes, the scalability of Ethereum Classic’s payment mechanisms remains one of the project’s largest concerns in the future. 4

Security is also likely to be a concern with smart contracts, especially because Ethereum Classic has already been hacked and millions of dollars stolen. These problems may preclude Ethereum Classic smart contracts from being used in big financial and real estate transactions.

The cryptocurrency market’s regulations are still evolving, which may or may not affect how Ethereum Classic—and other networks—operate. Because of their decentralized networks, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not consider Ethereum or Bitcoin to be securities.

Some cryptos may face difficulties obtaining acceptance for inclusion in various financial products that comprise a basket of securities, stocks, and bonds, such as exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, because they are not considered securities. The regulatory picture for Ethereum Classic, as well as other, less popular blockchain networks, remains unknown in the future.

The most popular idea was to establish a hard fork in order to undo the attack and return people’s funds. While this attracted support from Buterin and other major players, purists who believe in the blockchain concept of not tampering with the ledger—that the blockchain should continue to function with the theft intact—were outraged.

Those who want to maintain things the same remained on the current platform, which was renamed Ethereum Classic. The branched network, which kept the Ethereum moniker, attracted the majority of miners, developers, and users.

What is the current state of Ethereum Classic?

In a similar approach to how Ethereum works. The blockchain is based on “proof of work” mining, which means that individuals all over the globe use gear and software to validate and secure transactions on the network. Miners can earn ETC in exchange.

Users may, of course, transmit ETC to one another, just as they can send BTC or ETH on the Bitcoin or Ethereum networks. They may also use ETC to connect with Ethereum Classic network apps, such as decentralized exchanges, where they can swap network tokens.

However, compared to Ethereum and other smart contract networks like Solana, the Ethereum Classic ecosystem is less active. According to DeFi Llama, the network has limited activity on decentralized financial apps as of February 2022.

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What Is the Difference Between Ethereum Classic and Ethereum?

Ethereum Classic is a fork of the Ethereum platform. As a result of the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) hack, Ethereum Classic was born. The DAO was a project that acted as a venture capital fund for the crypto realm, and it was established on the Ethereum network in 2016.

The DAO’s primary premise is that investors’ money may be pooled using Ethereum-based DAO tokens, and anybody can submit and pitch their ideas to the Ethereum community.

“If a proposal is accepted by a quorum of 20% of all tokens, the DAO will instantly send Ether to the proposal’s smart contract. Any Ether earned as a result of the DAO’s proposals will be returned to participating investors as a reward “Osman Gazi Güçlütürk, a blockchain specialist, stated.

Many thought DAO was a revolutionary concept, and it garnered $150 million in ETH through a crowdfunding campaign. A hacker stole $60 million worth of ETH from DAO shortly after. Ouch! As a result, the Ethereum community was divided over how to recover from the catastrophic cybersecurity incident.

There were two schools of thought developed. On Ethereum’s compromised blockchain, one faction wants to undo the transaction. The other side responded no because reversing the transaction goes against one of blockchain’s key principles, which prohibits tampering. In the end, Ethereum shareholders opted to reverse the transaction, and today’s ETH is based on this blockchain.

Ethereum Classic, like other cryptocurrencies, will most likely desire to be a digital store of value, meaning it can be kept and exchanged while maintaining its worth. Crypto’s digital store of value includes its purchasing power, which, like money, can be swiftly converted into cash or used to purchase another item.