Against the background of Ethereum’s transition to the PoS algorithm, there are high chances that most of the hash rate will go to ETC, which means increasing the stability of the blockchain.

Trading platforms that support Ethereum Classic

ETC cryptocurrency managed to break into the top twenty assets by capitalization. More and more platforms are adding it to their listings, but there are those who did it long ago and provide the best conditions.

Binance exchange

Traditionally, this leader in the cryptocurrency industry is a part of almost every top. Due to its tactics to provide its clients with the most advanced cryptocurrency market instruments as quickly as possible, the exchange lists promising crypto-assets. Among the more than 360 cryptocurrencies traded on this site is ETC. The advantage is the presence of its own pool for mining, where this cryptocurrency asset is also available.

Commissions on the site are low, and they can also be reduced to 25% of the initial value if enough BNB tokens are stored. The only obstacle may be the mandatory verification of identity for those investors who are not ready to undergo this procedure.

Bitrue exchange

The second largest exchange in terms of ETC token trading volume, second only to Binance. Leverage allows increasing assets up to x125 on the futures market and x3 on the spot trading market.

OKEX exchange

A popular exchange that provides the widest functionality for investing and mining. The interface is user-friendly, full-featured, leverage up to x100 is possible.

The asset is traded on a site with good enough liquidity. Also, in the near future it may be added to the pool for mining, which belongs to this site.

Bybit exchange

Known for actively conducting IEOs and rapidly adding new assets, the platform also trades ETC, providing both spot and futures trading opportunities via the perpetual ETC/USDT contract. 

The most convenient platform for futures trading, has the ability to exchange this asset in the P2P section and has the widest investment toolkit.

Huobi exchange

This platform has been successfully operating on the market for almost 10 years, overtaking such a giant as Binance. It provides options for trading on the spot market, futures trading, buying options and perpetual swaps.

Among the advantages of the platform for ETC is the availability of a number of tools for passive income with the possibility of placing this asset.

EXMO exchange

Widely known platform, which has a lot of ways to buy cryptocurrency for fiat, and also possible mixed fiat/cryptocurrency trading.

MEXC exchange

The platform provides users with the widest set of options for trading cryptocurrency assets, including derivatives and index EFT. It is possible to trade perpetual contracts with a leverage up to x125.

A serious advantage is the presence of a P2P marketplace, as well as the possibility of setting up a trading bot.

KuCoin exchang

This platform has proven its reliability with 8 years of work, during which it has been actively developing its ecosystem, following the trends of the cryptocurrency industry and ensuring security of trade for every client.

The advantages are the listing of more than 7 hundreds of cryptocurrencies with active trading on the spot market, 128 derivative assets with links to the most popular tokens.

Bitget exchange

The platform has all the standard toolkits for cryptocurrency trading, there is a toolkit for algorithmic and copy-trading. An additional advantage is the large variety of trade order types, which can be useful for trading a fast-growing asset such as ETC.

Despite the relatively short period of operation, the exchange has quickly gained popularity among users due to the high degree of convenience and efficiency of trading.

YoBit exchange

This exchange will be the best option for those who prefer anonymity. This exchange allows any deposit and withdrawal operations, as well as the purchase of cryptocurrency assets without requiring verification.

The exchange features more than 2.4 thousand trading pairs with active trading of ETC to a number of other popular cryptocurrencies.

Conclusion

Ethereum Classic is traded on a growing number of platforms, but a number of them paid attention to this asset much earlier and are already providing high liquidity for trading this asset today. Moreover, a long enough period of work of these platforms in the market of cryptocurrencies guarantees their reliability.

Using these cryptocurrency exchanges provides an opportunity to buy an asset at the most current rate with fast execution of deals and a large number of cryptocurrency pairs, and often fiat pairs for its purchase and subsequent trade.

Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC) – what’s the difference?

Let’s take a closer look at the distinction between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

Compatibility

As of today, they show good compatibility between each other. It is also worth noting that Ethereum is focused on creating secure contracts, but it is very open for developers, which is the basic goal of the currency.

At the same time, the Ethereum Classic is open to creating more complex encryption, because of which the base for developers has to be partially sacrificed.

Development features

In Ethereum, all currency decisions are made only according to the community’s choice, which is then certified by the Ethereum Foundation and implemented. As for the Classic variant, decisions on it are made thanks to three disparate teams in conjunction with input from users.

The disadvantage of this variant is the poor coordination of the teams, which generates a lot of stoppages. Nevertheless, the system now works quite stably.

Variability of the blockchain

Ethereum is a variant of the blockchain that is modifiable, but only after agreement with the majority of users. The Classic variant is static in this sense, so there is no room for changes regardless of community opinion.

Transaction speed

The two digital currencies also have different speeds, although they are similar in the way they process information. In the case of Ethereum, the average processing time is 14 seconds.

As for the Classic variant, its transaction speed is only 13 seconds. The upgrades for this currency are planned, as a result of which the speed of transaction processing will remain approximately at the same level or decrease to 10 seconds, allowing users to enjoy all the benefits of the currency even more conveniently.

Community

Currencies have different electronic community gathering points, where they make their suggestions and discuss the changes that have already appeared. There is no way to say that any of the profile forums are better and give easier feedback, so they are equal.

Blockchain capacity

For Ethereum, this metric is very important and is around 1.2 million transactions per day to fill blocks. This could entail even higher transaction fees. The issue of expanding the number of blocks can be solved through updates, so it will all depend on users.

The Classic variant has a lot of free space in blocks, so no problems with increased transaction fees for users are expected yet.

As of today, both currencies are equally promising, so it may be difficult for a potential investor to decide on the chosen option for investment. Also worth noting is the fact that Ethereum is more attractive from an investment perspective due to the ability to make frequent changes agreed upon by users.

The Classic option is preferred because its transaction speed is very fast and there are enough blocks to fill, which keeps transaction costs at a very reasonable level.

Both currencies are very well traded on exchanges, so it is worth making a choice for yourself in favor of one or the other currency option, although you can make the purchase of both options of this electronic commodity, so that later you can take full advantage of such investment.

As for mining, it is still relevant for both currencies, so it is possible to get your hands on the coins not only after buying them on the exchange, but also after mining them yourself.

Conclusion

Analysts say that over time, the value of both currencies will only grow because of their high level of adoption, decentralization, a large number of startups that use it as well as a number of other advantages that make both currencies useful and in demand, and therefore attractive for investment.

That is why, to make your choice in favor of one of them is to provide yourself with an opportunity to profit from an investment in a promising technology.

Gas is a service unit of the Ethereum Classic blockchain, which is used to calculate the cost of transactions. When paying rewards to miners, it is converted into ETC. The cost of gas may vary depending on the current load of the system. Therefore, knowing what gas is, you can significantly reduce the cost of transactions.

What is Gas in Ethereum Classic

The Ethereum Classic blockchain does not exist only for the functioning of the ETC cryptocurrency. It is designed to deploy decentralized applications. That is, ETC is a native coin that can be used for payments and the internal needs of the system.

From the point of view of software algorithms, Ethereum Classic is a decentralized system consisting of separate blocks. It allows you to conduct transactions without involving a third party (payment system or bank), as well as automate operations using smart contracts. All user actions are validated by nodes. They are maintained by other participants, who are called miners.

Ethereum Classic operates on the Proof of Work protocol. This means that complex calculations on expensive hardware are required to form new blockchain blocks and validate operations. Therefore, miners should be rewarded for their efforts. The rewards are formed, among other things, at the expense of the commission charged to users.

Gas is taken as the commission unit. This makes it possible to determine the values of the various tasks performed in the “block chain”. For example:

• ETC transfer from user to user;
• balance check;
• smart contract execution.

Gas’ functions

The Ethereum Classic blockchain can perform a limited number of tasks at the same time. Gas in this case acts as a mean of overload prevention. That is, a certain amount of gas is spent on certain tasks. If you need to allocate more power to perform additional tasks, you need more gas.

If a user wants his transaction to happen faster, he must be prepared to pay a higher fee. That is, he raises the limit of gas that he is willing to spend. You can do the opposite as well. But if the limit is low, the miners will not validate your operation because the profit is too small for them.

The same functioning system is present in the Ethereum blockchain. But after the transition of the Ethereum blockchain to the protocol of the second version and the Proof of Stake consensus, the validation will take place by the nodes that “blocked” ETH on the wallet. That is, powerful mining farms will not be needed, and validators will be forced to switch to another blockchain. The first contender for miner power is Ethereum Classic. As a result, the price of ETC, according to many analysts, will begin to skyrocket.

Why Ethereum is switching to PoS

For the blockchain, not only the speed is important, but also the stability of the blockchain, as well as the security of the operations carried out in it. Gas significantly reduces the likelihood of an attack on the blockchain due to special features of charging for each action on the platform.

However, Ethereum is now working on protocol of version 1, thus it does not have time to process all transactions (there is not enough computational power provided by miners). To maintain stability, it is necessary to increase the cost of transactions, which makes Ethereum unsuitable for a full replacement for traditional financial instruments. Users will not pay large fees for small transfers.

Therefore, in 2022-2023, there is a phased transition to ETH 2.0, that is, the protocol of the second version. It will solve several problems at once:

• Scalability – as the number of operations increases, the computational power of the network will remain the same. It will use the Proof of Stake consensus and for validation it is enough to have coins in the account.
• High commissions – due to the increase in the number of validation nodes, commissions can be reduced. Carrying out transactions does not require large hardware capacities.
• Low speed – changing the principle of formation of new blocks will speed up payments and other operations within the blockchain. 

Gas is not used exclusively in Ethereum Classic and Ethereum. For example, an additional GAS token functions in the NEO blockchain, which is used when deploying smart contracts and paying rewards to miners.

ETC offers limited coin issue

The Ethereum Classic altcoin showed a rapid rise in price in March 2022. A powerful boost to the coin’s value was the news that Ethereum’s transition to the Proof of Stake protocol would take place very soon. In our opinion, the ETC rate correction that followed in April and May was caused not so much by the decline in attractiveness of the coin, as by the general collapse of the crypto market.

Analysts predict that in the long term, Ethereum Classic will still continue to grow, given the monetary policy the developers have chosen. ETC, like Bitcoin, has a limited coin issue of 210.7 million coins, while the Ethereum project has no such restrictions.

Ethereum promises lower fees

While ETC continues to try to grow in value and become popular among a large number of users, the ETH token has become notorious for its high fees, which reach $50 per transaction.

Recall that ETH suddenly plummeted to $2212 at the end of January, and in early June the coin was even lower with around $1760. At the same time, the cost of transfer fees soared to highs. On some protocols, the cost of transferring ERC-20 format tokens was as high as $112.

Developers claim that commission prices could drop as early as July this year. According to insiders, the long-awaited Ethereum 2.0 release will be implemented and it will help transition to the Proof of Stake algorithm, which will eliminate ETH mining and the concept of gas in the Ethereum network will remain only in history.

Technical differences between ETC and ETH

Based on both network smart contracts, users can issue their own tokens and manage their own blockchain projects. However, tokens of the ERC 20 standard (the Ethereum platform) are so popular that, according to rough estimates by experts, about 30% of all blockchain startups choose the ERC 20 smart contract. The “parent” system, on the other hand, does not enjoy such popularity.

The transformation of the consensus mechanism is also going differently. While Ethereum considers it necessary to phase out PoW – through a hybrid version of PoS+PoW – with a full transition to the PoS consensus mechanism in the future, Ethereum Classic voices the intention to continue using PoW.

In addition, in the spring of 2018, Corey Burns (programmer at Ethereum Classic) published an application known as ECIP-1043. It contained a proposal to change the algorithm, which, if approved, would open up the possibility of mining the coin using ASIC devices. In this case, it is not clear how the initiative of ETC’s developers is consistent with the basic postulate, according to which “the code is an immutable law.

Although it is not yet the fact that in the fight “ASIC vs. asic-resistant cryptocurrencies” the latter will win, but also to go to the conscious ease of creating specialized mining equipment in Ethereum do not want, creating a so-called “digital resistance” – the “front”, which is joined by ZCash, Monero and some other cryptocurrencies.

The essential technical parameter by which ETC is slightly ahead of ETH is the block generation speed: 13.7 seconds in Ether and 12.9 seconds in the Classic version (with the prospect of acceleration). But with the introduction of new protocol releases, this block generation period in Ether should also be reduced.

Ideological differences between ETC and ETH

Ethereum has surpassed not only Ethereum Classic, but all other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, in terms of interaction with various state and business structures. Now with the Ethereum network, there is a situation where the reputation of the platform and key figures in the developers makes it attractive and in demand in the implementation of mass government projects around the world, and the possibility of practical implementation of technologies, in turn, works on the reputation.

Unlike many other coins (including bitcoin), Ether has almost freed itself from the notoriety of a cryptocurrency created to conduct criminal activity. Today, its ecosystem, on which many other projects operate, is an entire empire, the parts of which add up to the total value of the entire system. Ethereum Classic cannot yet boast of such a scale of implementation in real economic projects. For comparison, we can give a list of the most famous examples of the use of both cryptocurrencies and a list of references to them in the media. Let’s look at Ethereum (ETH).

1. According to the ranking of cryptocurrencies and blockchains published by the Chinese government, Ethereum is in first place, ahead of bitcoin by 12 positions.
2. Ethereum’s cryptocurrency blockchain plans to use Ondiflo (an amalgamation of Amalto SA and ConsenSys) to automate the process of issuing receipts for gas and oil products, which could fundamentally change the situation in the energy industry.
3. The smart contract technology implemented in Ethereum will be used by NASA in research projects related to the automatic maneuvering of spacecraft while dodging orbital debris, and in building the computing infrastructure for deep space exploration.
4. Energy companies in Chile will begin using blockchain crypto-networks to create a statistical base.

By comparison, during the same period under review, most of the news related to Ethereum Classic was about the coin’s introduction into the listing of the next exchange. There were almost no reports about its introduction into socio-economic structures. But there was information about calculations given by one researcher from Sao Paulo University in Brazil, who claimed that investing just $55-85 million to hack Ethereum Classic could bring $1 billion to attackers, and would most likely bankrupt the crypto network. However, ETC in the study was taken as an illustrative example, but in general the discussion was about the vulnerability of all PoW-based networks.

Coin Comparison

As in the Chinese government’s ranking, Ethereum is well ahead of Ethereum Classic in Coinmarketcap’s composite cryptocurrency ranking. Since the ranking evaluates the position of coins based on a number of key criteria, it is easier to demonstrate the list of differences between Ethereum Classic and Ethereum proper in the table.

Both coins have high volatility, but this is a property of all cryptocurrency assets. At the same time, there is an ongoing discussion in the crypto community about the possibility of repeated attempts to collapse ETC, which is blamed on major crypto market players who support ETH. Forums often claim that ETH supporters are also holders of about 10% of all ETC coins, which allows them to influence the market and partially control the price of ETCs. All this makes the prospects of the classic version of the coin less bright than those of the well-known Ether.

• What is Ethereum Classic (ETC)?
• Analysis of Ethereum Classic
• How Ethereum Classic came to be
• The DAO. The theft that started ETH
• The first steps of Ethereum Classic. Currency entering exchanges
• Ethereum Classic project. The main principle of ETC
• Where to buy Ethereum Classic cryptocurrency
• Wallet for storing ETC
• ETC outlook for 2022. Is Ethereum Classic worth buying?

What is Ethereum Classic (ETC)?

Cryptocurrency forks are one of the riskiest investments. Throughout the history of the digital market, there have often been situations where another fork of a well-known digital currency was released, and after reaching the next level of the coin’s exchange rate, the project was successfully abandoned.

However, this does not happen with all forks and there are some very decent and promising options on the market for investing their funds, which can bring investors a huge profit in the long term.

One such asset is the Ethereum Classic (ETC) coin. This cryptocurrency can be very interesting for its high yield, even despite the fact that it is a fork. Once in 2016, just after the release of ETC, this currency started trading at just 70 cents apiece, and after two years of successful existence on the digital market, ETC in January 2018 was already worth about $46. At its peak, crypto reached $134 in 2021. The price is now at $26.

Accordingly, those investors who invested their money in this asset in time were able to increase their capital by almost 66 times.

However, even despite such a successful development of the project, there are a lot of contradictory rumors about ETC on the Internet. And many users just don’t understand – is it possible to trust Ethereum Classic? Is it worth buying ETC at this moment? Does this project have any prospects or is it a scam that was created just to steal money?

Today’s article will try to answer these questions and talk about this cryptocurrency, about the main idea of the project, about the history of this Blockchain company and about its growth perspectives. After reading this article, you will surely be able to form your own opinion about this project and evaluate it on all its merits.

Analysis of Ethereum Classic

In CoinMarketCap list of the best cryptocurrencies, Ethereum Classic occupies the 34 place at the middle of March 2022. The capitalization of this Blockchain project is more than $3.5 billion, the price per coin is about $26. The issue is limited to 210,700,000 ETCs and it is possible to mine ETCs.

How Ethereum Classic came to be

As mentioned earlier, Ethereum Classic is a fork of the Ethereum cryptocurrency.  So, before we describe the appearance of ETC, we should talk a bit about Ethereum currency itself and the creation of the famous blockchain project The DEX, which is connected with ETC creation.

Ethereum cryptocurrency is a decentralized application platform based on smart contracts technology. This system allows automatic transactions between people without interference from anyone outside.

This technology certainly appealed to many programmers, who wanted to create their own cryptocurrency on the Ethereum platform. As a result, the Ethereum Foundation began to grow very quickly in the digital currency market. And in a short time, it was able to find many supporters in the form of big investors and strong support in the cryptocurrency community.

Even very large companies of that time began to test the system for professional suitability and try to create their own Blockchain projects on it, one of which is The DAO.

The DAO. The theft that started ETH

To begin with, it is worth explaining what The DAO is all about. This company is a kind of large investment fund, which was based on the then developing Ethereum system. The DAO had its own tokenized system and a fully decentralized economy.

This Blockchain project seemed very interesting to many investors. Users invested their money in it, hoping for the development of the company and further perspective. As a result, The DAO was able to raise a very large investment at the time, more than $100 million.

However, shortly after The DAO Blockchain Project came to market, there was a very unpleasant incident caused by a hacker attack on the company during which investors’ funds were stolen. At the time, millions of dollars in Ethereum cryptocurrency were stolen from The DAO. The main reason the company was hacked was a vulnerability in the code of the smart contract on which the project was created.

As a result of this incident, the price of DEX digital shares, as well as the Ethereum currency itself, fell almost twice almost immediately. In general, the companies were on the verge of their existence and were slowly losing their credibility, so extreme measures were needed.

The first thing Ethereum Foundation developers did was track down that hacker and freeze his account with the stolen cryptocurrency. However, they couldn’t just return the funds to DAO, for that they had to change the system code of ETH. That’s why the development team decided to make a hard fork to roll back the moment when the theft occurred and return investors’ funds.

However, not all members of the Ethereum team agreed with this decision, as it implied centralized interference in the Blockchain system code and substituted the main idea of Ethereum about “full decentralization of the system and non-interference of people in the smart contracts process”.

On the other hand, by rejecting this opportunity to create a fork of the cryptocurrency and compensate people for the loss of $50 million that was stolen from the DEX project, the developers would preserve full decentralization of the system, but they would have to pay for the damage themselves. After all, they were to blame for introducing users to their “raw” product, which had critical vulnerabilities.

In short, the situation was ambiguous. Part of the community was in favor of creating the fork of ETH and changing the system code of Blockchain, while others were against it. As the result, most of the community still decided to compensate the users for that considerable damage by changing the Ethereum code and forget about their principle of complete decentralization.

After that decision, the network split in two and a new digital asset called Ethereum Classic appeared.

The first steps of Ethereum Classic. Currency entering exchanges

ETC was born in July 2016. Immediately after entering the digital market, this asset managed to surprise everyone by being listed on such a well-known exchange as Poloniex, which, as you know, simply does not add little-known and unreliable projects to its list of cryptocurrencies.

And this, in turn, shows that Ethereum Classic is not just a fork of Ethereum, but a full-fledged asset with its own perspective.

A few days after trading, ETC was able to grow in price and capitalization by more than 250%, overtaking Ethereum. At that time, the capitalization of the Ethereum Classic project was able to reach over $250 million.

However, despite such growth that seemed very natural, later it turned out that Ethereum Classic’s development was caused not by investors’ trust to this project or by the support of a powerful developer community, but by a planned speculation of ETC coin by a great number of traders on Poloniex exchange. That’s why the capitalization and rate of ETC were very unstable and very volatile, due to traders’ short positions, on which they were able to make a lot of money at that time.

But in the end, such manipulations did not undermine Ethereum Classic’s credibility and did not stop its development.

Soon after adding ETC to Poloniex, many other exchanges also began to adopt this digital asset and add it to their sales list. The most famous of them are Bittrex and Kraken. And of course, each time listing ETC on a new trading platform significantly boosted its price, capitalization and the overall development of the project.

In addition, the development of Ethereum Classic was influenced by the fact that this system retained the possibility of mining. And since the complexity of mining the asset was easier than the Ethereum currency, many miners around the world and some mining pools preferred to mine this coin rather than its competitor.

Ethereum Classic Project. The main principle of ETC

ETC can be presented as a secure platform for creating decentralized applications (dApp).

This coin is almost a full copy of Ethereum cryptocurrency, but at the same time ETC has fully preserved its original system code and has not been somehow changed by the developers, as this is the main principle of this company – to be an independent platform, which itself performs transactions based on smart contracts.

The development of this cryptocurrency is primarily engaged in two teams: ETCdevteam and Grothendieck, which are fully dedicated to the development of the project.

The main principle of this project, which the developers put above all, is the belief in the principle of decentralization, which under no circumstances will not be changed. The founders of the company believe that their Blockchain system should function by itself on the basis of smart contracts, without any interference from the outside.

And if the Blockchain code is ever changed for any reason, it will no longer be the original Ethereum, but only its failed parody.

Where to buy Ethereum Classic cryptocurrency

Digital currency ETC is quite a popular asset, so you can buy it at many of the best cryptocurrency exchanges without any problems.

The largest volume of trades on the digital market happens on the Binance trading platform. The daily sales volume of this coin on this exchange is about $322 million. In general, the demand and supply of ETCs there is quite enough, all orders are processed quickly and without any delays.

The most popular trading platforms, trading ETCs:

• Binance
• Huobi
• Bitfinex
• HitBTC
• Poloniex
• Kraken
• Bittrex
• KuCoin

Wallet for storing ETC

At the moment, there are a lot of wallets for storing Ethereum Classic cryptocurrency. Of course, you can store this currency on the trading platform where you purchased it, but it is not the most secure way, because not only you have access to your wallet, but also exchange’s developers. That’s why you should prefer more reliable options for storing your coins – cryptocurrency wallets.

One of the good options for online storing of ETCs is presented on our website. This wallet is free and very easy to use. With it you can get started with ETCs in just a few seconds.

There are several other options of free online wallets, which have a user-friendly interface and strong protection – these are Mist and Jaxx.

If you want maximum protection for your cryptocurrency, then order the Ledger Nano S cold storage hardware wallet, which also supports the ETC digital asset. This type of wallet is the most reliable and secure place to store your cryptocurrencies, because Ledger wallets have not yet been hacked by anyone. However, for such pleasure you have to pay about 70-150 euros.

For this fee you will get by mail a special device to connect to your PC, through which a safe connection will occur to your personal account with cryptocurrency.

ETC outlook for 2022. Is Ethereum Classic worth buying?

To summarize this article, we can draw some conclusions about the ETC cryptocurrency, which is a fork of the well-known Ethereum currency. This asset is an established platform for creating decentralized applications, which has its own clear ideology and a strong belief in a decentralized system based on smart contacts.

The ETC project has found many followers from the beginning, who happily invested their money in it, allowing the company to grow and compete with other digital assets. This, in turn, shows that users trust Ethereum Classic, and this is the best marker in the world of cryptocurrencies for the project’s future prospects and successful development.

Moreover, as history shows, this currency immediately after coming on the market, began to add to its sales list the most popular and reliable crypto exchanges like Poloniex, Kraken, Binance, which just once again proves that ETC is not just a fork, but a solid digital currency with its own advantages and a transparent and successful future.

All in all, ETC cryptocurrency, which kept Ethereum community’s original belief in decentralization, proved itself very well in the digital market, and many investors have already invested a lot of money into this coin. 

The future prospects of Ethereum Classic in 2022 is to take its place in the top 10 of the best cryptocurrencies and increase its value by several times.

And while this asset is still quite cheap, you can buy it for little money, adding it to your investment portfolio and leaving it for further storage in your wallet. Such an investment will not be a 100% guarantee of profit in the future, but you can save your savings for sure.

Content

• What is a cryptocurrency hardfork?
• The process of conducting a hardfork
• What is the difference between a hardfork and a softfork?
• Planned and controversial forks
• What is the purpose of a hardfork?
• Who can initiate a fork?
• Hardfork initiation
• How does a hardfork affect the price of a cryptocurrency?
• Advantages and disadvantages of cryptocurrency hardfork
• Popular cryptocurrency hardforks 
• Conclusion 

What is a cryptocurrency hardfork?

Blockchain networks, unlike regular programs, cannot update at the click of a button. Cryptocurrency, as a decentralized network, operates through the work of nodes – members of the network that process transactions for a certain fee. For successful functioning, all nodes work on a single protocol and updating the network requires their full consent. 

Such updates in the cryptocurrency industry are called forks. The very notion of fork means creating a clone of a cryptocurrency based on its source code taken from open sources. That is, a fork is a full copy of a coin that has not been altered. 

Hardfork, in simple terms, is an update of the blockchain’s programming code by creating a new chain of blocks. The cryptocurrency protocol defines the principles of network operation (consensus algorithm, transaction processing methods, node interaction).  A hardfork, on the other hand, is aimed at changing the rules of the protocol. 

The process of conducting a hardfork

The update takes place from a predeclared block of the network. If nodes accept the hardfork this block becomes the first for the new blockchain, if nodes do not want to change – the hardfork is canceled and the network just continues to work. 

A new chain is formed when a hardfork takes place, that is, the network is split into two blockchains that are independent of each other. The network with the “original” protocol is unchanged, continuing to operate under the old rules. But all the nodes that make it work completely leave it, making its existence impossible. The second network begins to operate under the updated rules.

In most cases the old network dies out, but sometimes not everyone in the community agrees to the changes. Then the old version of the protocol gets a chance to “survive” by becoming a new coin with a different name. A similar situation took place during the Ethereum Classic fork

What is the difference between a hardfork and a softfork?

There are two types of updates, hardfork and softfork, which essentially correspond to “hard” and “soft” implementation of code changes, but it depends on the specifics of the update.

With softforks, updates are made to the network without restricting the operation of the old protocol, that is, nodes that have not switched to a new protocol, can continue to provide the network with the old principle, but only as long as their work does not violate the rules of the updated network. That is, a softfork is a milder version of the changes – the old nodes, although able to work, but only within a limited scope, which reduces their efficiency and smoothly leads to an upgrade. 

In the case of a hardfork, the network does not foresee the ability to work on the past version and requires the creation of a new branch of the blockchain. It must be supported by all nodes in the network, otherwise it will be cancelled or lead to the creation of a new cryptocurrency. With a softfork, there is no such risk, but it cannot allow the network to start making fundamental changes.

That is, a hardfork is the only option for global changes in the network’s protocol and functionality.

Planned and controversial forks

Hardforks can be either planned or unplanned. 

With planned changes, network nodes are willing to upgrade voluntarily on the announced day, leaving behind outdated rules. In this case, there are usually few dissenters and even if they remain on the abandoned branch of the blockchain, its existence becomes impossible due to insufficient hash rate. 

Heated debates or unplanned hardforces (as in the case of the Ethereum Classic hardforge discussed later) often result in a split community, resulting in two functioning networks moving in different directions.

What is the purpose of a hardfork?

A cryptocurrency hardfork is first and foremost an update that aims to improve the performance of the network. Thus, a hardfork can be used for such purposes:

• Fixing network bugs – detected bugs need to be solved and if old nodes can’t continue working after fixing them, the network needs a hard fork. 
• Adding new features – for example, introducing smart contracts or radically changing the algorithm of operation.  

Who can initiate a fork?

Many cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, have open source code, and therefore it is not difficult to create a new one. 

The most famous bitcoin forks are Litecoin (LTC), which as of December 2021 is ranked 18th in the cryptocurrency ranking, and DASH, ranked 79th.

Hardfork initiation

Anyone can initiate a network hardfork, as well as a softfork. Usually, the initiator is a well-known person in the cryptocurrency world or an entire community – a team of developers, a pool of miners, or a community of coins. 

In any case, in order to conduct a hardfork, it is necessary to convince as many participants of the network as possible of its necessity. Often, it is the rift in the community that leads to a hardfork, and consequently to the emergence of a new cryptocurrency. 

The most famous coins that emerged as a result of bitcoin’s hardfork are Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold.

How does the hardfork affect the price of the cryptocurrency?

There is no clearly traceable effect of the hardfork on the cryptocurrency price. It largely depends on its characteristics – the reason for its initiation, the level of acceptance by the community. 

So, a positive attitude of all participants of the community and important changes that strengthen the position of the cryptocurrency in the market can have a positive impact on the currency rate. But it is far from necessary and the only thing that experts agree on is that global changes in the protocol during the hardfork can only provoke excessive volatility of the asset. 

And this applies only to large coins – hardfork of cryptocurrencies with low capitalization usually has no effect on their rates or it may even turn out to be another fraud attempt.

Advantages and disadvantages of cryptocurrency hardfork

The consequences of a hardfork can both have a positive effect on a cryptocurrency’s functioning and rate, and a negative effect. 

Advantages of hardforks

• A dramatic change in network protocol aimed at the evolution of the crypto-asset. If successful, all users completely migrate to the new network. The previous version dies out due to its uselessness and lack of working nodes; 
• Improving the network performance and changing the conditions of its operation – increasing the bandwidth, changing the rules for mining rewards, optimizing the principles of node interaction;
• Fixing critical bugs, improving security protocols;
• Some users consider a hardfork as a chance to earn money – so when the blockchain is split, the number of coins also doubles, and if the previous version is still functional, the user can withdraw and sell these coins. 

Disadvantages of hardforks

• With hardfork changes, it is difficult to predict how a hardfork will affect the performance of the network and which network will remain the main one. There is always the possibility of critical errors that can no longer be fixed by rolling back the system. In this case, network members will have to opt for the previous version of the network, i.e. the branch without the upgrade that appeared at the time of the network split;
• A hardfork often causes the community to split into two groups for and against the change. In this case, even if the hardfork is held by a majority, the “old” network has every chance of “surviving” and continuing to function. Of course, a splintering of a large number of network nodes can negatively affect the main cryptocurrency network;
• Hardfork can cause volatility of the asset, which can lead to loss of funds.

Popular cryptocurrency hardforks

During a hardfork, the network branches off, creating two versions that operate under the old and new protocols. If there are enough nodes of the old version of the network to ensure its functionality, it remains and continues to work under the new name. 

It is worth understanding that the new coin working under the old protocol is not the goal of the hardfork, but its byproduct, which has a chance of commercial success.

Bitcoin hardforks

The bitcoin network has seen many hardforks over the course of its existence. The very first one was launched in mid-2015 to increase network capacity by increasing block size. The Bitcoin XT spin-off coin did not gain the necessary number of miners for its functioning.

• Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is the most successful coin since the hardfork of bitcoin in August 2017. The reason for its emergence was a community split over the controversy over the need for a larger block size. 

Interestingly, BCH also had a post-hardfork hardfork that created two more branches – BCH and BCHA. Bitcoin Cash hardfork has a market capitalization of $8.3 billion as of December 2021 and is ranked #24 in the CoinMarketCap cryptocurrency ranking with a value of $442.

• Bitcoin Gold (BTG) – this coin also appeared in 2017 at the initiative of a pool of miners promoting the introduction of an update to the use of video cards for mining under the slogan “let’s make bitcoin decentralized again.” As of the end of 2021, the coin is worth $43 and ranks 112th in capitalization.
• Bitcoin Diamond (BCD) – Hardforks of bitcoin have historically taken place under the slogan “going back to the roots.” So, too, BCD emerged in November 2017, thanks to the desire of bitcoin supporters to ensure complete anonymity of transactions. In addition, there was an increase in bandwidth and the number of coins to be issued. BCD is worth $1.31 in December 2021 and ranks 189th on CoinMarketCap.

Ethereum hardforks

There have also been quite a few hardforces in the history of ethereum’s development. For example, the first one occurred in March 2016, just under a year after the blockchain’s launch. This update stabilized the blockchain and brought it closer to greater decentralization, by removing the canary contracts feature that allows developers to undo user actions. 

Ethereum Classic

One of the most negative developments in the history of ethereum occurred in 2016 when developers launched an investment project to raise funds based on smart contracts within the core network. The smart contracts software code contained a critical vulnerability that enabled fraudsters to steal $50 million in assets.  

The stolen funds, like all other user coins, were blocked for 28 days, giving them a chance to be recovered. To get it back, it was decided to launch an unplanned hardfork of ether, which eventually led to a network and community split, and the emergence of a new coin, Ethereum Classic.

Byzantium, Constantinople and London

Unlike bitcoin, whose hardforks constantly led to new coins, ether has a more coherent community. Thus, over the years, there have been several more successful planned ether hardforks:

• Byzantium – launched in October 2017, it was aimed at optimizing network commissions, introducing a mechanism for parallel processing of blockchain transactions and moving a “complexity bomb” – a mechanism to gradually increase the complexity of mining. 
• Constantinople – After two cancellations, an ethereum hardfork was held in early March 2019. This update improved smart contracts and optimized virtual machine performance, also reduced rewards for miners and moved the complexity bomb again. 
• London – The ether network’s hardfork in early August 2021 completely changed the rewarding mechanism for miners. After the update, each block has a fixed commission and a portion of it is automatically burned off, keeping asset inflation in check.

All of these headforks, including softer updates such as Altair, are preparing ether for the beginning of a new era called Ethereum 2.0. 

Cardano hardforks

The first “third generation” cryptocurrency and the world’s seventh largest by capitalization, Cardano has always attracted investors with its elaborate roadmap, but most importantly, with the urgency to follow it. ADA’s hardforks never lead to the creation of a new coin because of the special system of combining old and new blocks. 

• Shelley is the first major update for the Cardano network. It was activated in July 2020 and was aimed at fully decentralizing the network and enabling staking capabilities. Since then, the network has switched to the Ouroboros consensus algorithm.
• Mary – Cardano’s hardfork, which opened up the ability for users to create their own tokens without using smart contracts, was launched in March 2021.
• Alonzo – the last major update that brought the cryptocurrency into the Goguen era happened in September 2021. With its launch, smart contracts are finally opening up for the network, allowing the creation of decentralized applications based on the network. 

Conclusion 

Hardforks can lead a cryptocurrency to unexpected consequences: splitting the community and creating a competing coin, but their goal – the development and improvement of technology – is more important than all the dangers. The ever-growing cryptocurrency market is gaining more and more supporters, changing the rules of the financial world, and only the best platforms and coins that are ready to change will become its foundation. 

In the Ethereum Classic blockchain, the emphasis is on the supremacy of the program code, its immutability. The position of the developers has always been based on the principle of non-interference in work processes. Ethereum Classic is essentially the original Ethereum, retaining the principles of code supremacy.  After the fork, all ETH holders received an equal amount of ETC.

Also, the advantage of Ether Classic is the shared source code with the Ethereum blockchain. This allows the currency to use most wallets that accept ETH and interact with dApps on the Ethereum blockchain.

Smart contracts, on which the blockchain works, automatically check all the terms of the contract and the fulfillment of obligations under it. Since smart contracts are executed by machines, they are nearly impossible to break or bypass.

The main mission of Ethereum is the following tasks:

•     decentralize and censor the main blockchain, which will give freedom to users and miners;
•     to make Etherum the central computer of the worldwide network, which cannot be turned off, so that smart contacts are constantly launched on it for ease of use;
•     strict separation of functionality, where forks are used only in order to fix system problems and possible bugs in time;
•     make a censorship-resistant platform that everyone can trust.

Ethereum Classic blockchain

Ethereum Classic provides the Ether currency (Classic Ether, ETC), which can be transferred from one network participant to another and is used to pay for calculations performed by public network nodes, as well as the ability to create your own digital assets (tokens) on the Ethereum Classic blockchain.

The ether paid for the calculations made is called “Gas” (Gas). The gas serves not only to pay for the calculations performed but also prevents DDOS attacks on the network.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) technology, according to the plans of the developers, should affect different industries – government, finance, supply management, etc., with special attention being paid to the formation of a full-fledged Internet. The computer that unites all devices in the ETC network into one whole is called the ETC virtual machine. It uses blockchain technology.

By its construction, the blockchain is resistant to data modification. It is an open, distributed ledger that efficiently and continuously verifies transactions between two parties. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum Classic works using accounts and balances, which is called state transitions.  It is independent of unspent transaction outputs (UTXO).  Status indicates the current balances of all accounts and additional data.

Mining Ethereum classic

Ethereum Classic, like regular Ethereum, runs on the Dagger-Hashimoto (Ethash) algorithm. For mining Etehereum classic, video cards (GPU) AMD and Nvidia 3-4 GB and above, as well as special Asic are suitable. It is possible to mine Ethereum Classic https://etcwallet.net/articles/mining-ethereum-classic-what-it-takes-and-how-to-mine-on-windows  using the power of a PC without assembling large farms and significant energy costs.

Advice! When you choose a pool for ETC mining, pay attention to the amount of computing power in the ETC network and miners.  The more people mine ETC in the pool, the faster the search for the required block is, and, accordingly, the more productive the work process.

Mining Ethereum Classic is quite profitable since the network hash rate is lower than Ethereum’s. You can calculate the profitability for mining Ethereum Classic using any mining calculator.

Mining pools

The profit generated by mining Ethereum Classic as part of a group (pool) depends on the characteristics of the pool.  Each pool has its commission, but you should not focus only on this parameter.  It is better to determine the profitability empirically.  To do this, you need to sequentially connect to several pools for the same period of time (at least 12 hours) and record the farm’s profitability indicators.  This will allow an objective assessment of the working conditions in a particular association.

How and where to buy Ethereum Classic?

To buy tokens, you can use online exchangers or cryptocurrency exchanges. BestChange is one of the most popular online services. Here you will find a selection of trusted exchangers and low cryptocurrency rates.  You can pay for coins with fiat funds – transfer from a bank card or electronic wallet, or by exchanging other digital money for ETC. You will be able to purchase ETS on many exchanges: Kraken, Etoro, Binance, Cointree, Coinbase, Changelly, Cryptonit, etc.

If you want to create your own crypto, follow these steps:

1. Registration in the ethereum system and creation of your wallet for storing ether;
2. Replenishment of the wallet balance;
3. Writing your smart contract – a code for a new cryptocurrency based on ether;
4. Publishing the code on the Ethereum platform (for this you need to log in to the system, go to the section with contracts, click “deploy new contract”, and insert your code into the SOLIDITY CONTRACT SOURCE CODE field);
5. Setting up a token – specifying the name, logo and size of the issue of your cryptocurrency;
6. Payment of the cost of creating a smart contract.

So, ETC is a solid cryptocurrency project. Its hallmark is a community of principled developers who take system immutability very seriously, which is the strongest feature of ETC.  Their unyielding principles are the guarantor of user confidence. Ultimately, Ether Classic has the potential to become as powerful crypto as Ethereum, and will surely take its place in the fast-paced world of blockchains.

It appeared in 2016, not long after the initial birth of Ethereum, and it actually wasn’t unsuccessful. It’s not a revolutionary new trend that ETH turned out to be, but Classic is still a very valuable and very promising coin. Not only that, but it’s also a unique experience, not entirely similar to ETH.

Situation around Ethereum Classic

Like most forks, Ethereum Classic came into being because a group of users didn’t like the update that the team of developers of the original coin decided to get released. In this instance, the change wasn’t as important as the remaining users’ desire to keep the original concept largely intact.

That’s why this one is called Ethereum Classic – as opposed to the New Ethereum that went a slightly different way, grew in value, and came to be the second most-prized coin ever. 

So, if Ethereum is so much more successful (not to mention Bitcoin), why choose Ethereum Classic of all things? Well, there are reasons.

#1: Promising Trend

For the past several years, Ethereum Classic has been stubbornly climbing in value. Of course, if you look at the graphs, you’ll see that there have been ups and downs, and there have been just as many sudden drops as there were increases. However, the general trend is still positive.

If you look at this coin as a potential investment, you may be onto something. Ethereum Classic uses the same stable, reliable mechanisms to keep its value steadily climbing even in spite of the market trends that increase its volatility and risks. 

Even though it should be riskier, it’s not. In fact, you are probably going to be safer with ETC than with ETH because the latter has a much bigger trading volume and, as such, is more susceptible to sudden price changes.

#2: Reliability

What makes Ethereum Classic a reliable, sturdy mechanism is actually a mix of two factors.

Firstly, the system of smart contracts used in Ethereum and Ethereum Classic is safe and secure by design. It’s a two-party decentralized system that allows people to construct fault-proof sequences, which come into action and conduct the transaction on their own when the requirements are met.

It’s constructed in such a way that it’s very hard to hack into your contract unless there is some definite flaw in its structure. Even that is hard to miss nowadays, thanks to the second factor.

Secondly, they kept polishing the original formula all these years, instead of adding new features to it. Their commitment to preserving the ‘classic’ Ethereum led them to a logical condition where they simply get rid of the remaining bugs, improve the quality of life, and make sure you don’t have downtimes.

That’s why ETC is not vulnerable to attacks, and also why its value is more stable than you would think (it’s just a calm experience without any major incidents).

#3: Field for Experimentation

The good thing about having your entire system run on smart contracts is that you can actually do whatever you want with them. If you know something about the coding sequences, you’ll be able to construct a few contracts. Even if you don’t, there are still tons of templates, and the creation process isn’t really difficult.

The good thing about ETC is that your decision to invest in Classic allows you to create projects that run on this currency. The smart contracts can take any shape. For instance, you can tie it to a widget and have someone pay you money in the exact sequence you want them to, all in a perfectly decentralized and automated manner.

#4: Very Easy ETC Mining

ETC developers did a lot to make sure the mining process on their network is extremely easy. They’ve removed many obstacles and constantly make sure there is no downtime, delays, or other technical issues that can reduce the mining efficiency of the users.

This fact correlates with another good aspect of this currency – the good value. Although not as valuable as some top crypto (like Bitcoin and Ethereum), each ETC coin is still worth about $60, as of August 2021. 

What it means for you is that you can continue mining a reasonably valuable coin without worrying that it’s going to decrease in value or otherwise damage your own profits. Part of why Ethereum Classic is so successful is actually because of its association with Ethereum proper. 

Whether they like it or not, part of their success is due to Ethereum. While Ethereum succeeds, so does Ethereum Classic.

#5: Availability

The problem with some obscure coins is that you can’t always redeem them for fiat money on exchanges. Even Binance often lacks them as exchange options. Ethereum Classic, by comparison, is a rather old cryptocurrency. Moreover, it was introduced to many top-tier exchanges from the get-go.

It’s true – a lot of them backed Ethereum Classic in the first months of the fork. That doesn’t necessarily imply privilege, but it shows you that most proper exchanges have been working with ETC for a long time now, and others joined it later. They had a lot of time to do that.

There are still differences, and ETC introduced several unique features, although most were carried on from the pre-fork era. All that molded Ethereum Classic into a distinct system with its own advantages and disadvantages. Exploring these is the sole purpose of this article.

Ethereum Classic Definition

ETC is not technically a fork of ETH, contrary to what most believe. The latter is the fork of the original, and ETC simply took the pre-existing protocol and continues to utilize it. As such, the Classic offers an exciting glimpse into the Ethereum experience as it was in its fledgling years.

The development team of Ethereum itself has moved on since then and brought many changes both to the protocol and the marketing aspects of their currency. ETC, however, did not. The only few changes they introduced only affected the quality of life. The principles are the same, and that includes:

1. It is a transparent and uncensored way of handling money.
2. ‘Code is Law’: the system uses applications that allow people to transfer money automatically precisely as they requested by creating smart contracts.
3. The system is fully decentralized and doesn’t require banking services to work.

In some ways, it’s like Bitcoin, except you can customize your own way of handling money if you know how to tinker with codes.

Major advantages 

There are several key upsides that make working with Ethereum Classic a beneficial and comfortable experience. These advantages aren’t drawn in comparison to other cryptocurrencies or protocols. 

• Smart contracts

Smart contracts are applications that support the entire ETC Blockchain. The transactions between the users are not possible without these. Their main quality is versatility. Since the code is open and Turing-complete, anyone with sufficient coding knowledge can create a sequence of their own.

The sequences usually have requirements which, if met, proceed to execute the contract, the contents of which can also be specified right there. You basically leave it and wait for the other party to make their own move. If they meet the requirements, the transaction will happen automatically and without involving any third party at all.

Basically, you have an extremely versatile and decentralized method of transferring money. It has a definitive edge over Bitcoin in terms of potential. That being said, you need to know a thing or two about coding.

• Ease of ETC mining

It’s especially apparent in comparison to Ethereum. Where Ethereum has increased the difficulty of mining for its users, ETC has removed most of the obstacles and stuck to the Proof-of-Work method of block creation. All of that means that it’s much easier to create blocks and mine coins on ETC than on many other networks.

You should note that it can also be a bad thing. ETC is a valuable coin, but because it’s easier to mine, it also means that it will be less useful in the long run. Basically, its value is projected to grow slower than you’d want.

• Freedom and decentralization

All cryptocurrencies are decentralized, at least mostly. ETC is completely decentralized, and even the development team itself doesn’t interfere with the transactions and most other processes that happen on the Blockchain. It’s not just a good policy, it’s a principle. 

The existence of ETC is due to the principle of not interfering with the transactions at all. Furthermore, it was basically inherited from the previous developers by the group of dedicated users. So, they are by no means supposed to exert some sort of control apart from decisions agreed upon by all ETC users.

Major disadvantages 

There are a few downsides that can be clearly pinpointed. These don’t just include the technical problems, but also issues related to the market.

• Worse market situation

Although ETC is still a valuable coin ($60 in summer 2021), it’s obviously much less valuable in comparison to ETH. It’s not really that big of a deal on its own, but it also means that there’s less demand, less trade volume, less liquidity, and more volatility. Basically, it’s riskier to invest in ETC than in ETH or BTC.

Not by much, mind you – Classic is still considered a promising coin, and it isn’t that risky to play around with, just riskier than top currencies.

• Fewer updates than ETH

If you compare it to ETH, you’ll see that ETC has way fewer updates and new content than its cousin. It’s not surprising, nor is it a big deal if you don’t want a lot of new content arriving on a regular basis. However, it’s still a valid complaint for some, and a lot of people would want major updates more often than once a year.