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 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.”
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.
The Ethereum Classic network is secured using proof-of-work, but 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.
Pairs are available against stablecoins, other cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, while derivatives and institutional investment vehicles also exist. Exchanges trading ETC include Binance, OKEx and Huobi Global.
