Yesterday, Ethereum classic removed its difficulty bomb from the "Ethereum Classic Mainnet" by making a hard fork in block 5 900 000.
Designed to increase mining difficulty over time, this bomb was a basic feature of the original Ethereum code (which later split into Ethereum Classic and Ethereum) in 2016. The network upgrade took place at Block 5 900 000, based on available network data and statements from developers involved in the project.
Developers involved in the project reported that most of the exchange nodes and mining pools reported having updated their software well before the Fork.
There was no indication of any adverse effects or bugs in the hours following the fork. The upgrade should reduce the time required to create a block.
As such, this upgrade puts both a technical and ideological distance between Ethereum classic and Ethereum blockchains.
While the Ethereum community remains engaged in the transition to an issue-based consensus system, the Ethereum Classic community has chosen to continue to use working evidence, as its members argue, in relation to the different means of reaching consensus on block validation. It is more resistant to centralization."
Specifically, advocates argue that proof-of-work systems require their validators (minors) to continually invest in equipment and therefore in the blockchain.
Discussions around this fork began as early as 2016, and due to this thorough preparation, the upgrade should not pose a problem.
