In fact, Ethereum Classic (ETC) is the closest to the original blockchain that Vitalik Buterin came up with. But Ethereum itself is its clone.

Ethereum Classic is a public decentralized platform that supports smart contracts. The basis of this project is its own digital currency.

The environment ensures the free operation of services and applications, as well as allows users to manage digital assets without banks and other financial institutions acting as intermediaries.

Characteristic features of the project include:

1. Full decentralization
2. Stability (information in the registry has been stored since 2015)
3. Invariability (no changes from the outside).

Speaking about ETH and ETC, we can’t but compare them to find the key differences.

• Ethereum Classic has a limit, whereas in the case of Ethereum there is no limit.
• Ethereum has a “difficulty bomb”, whereas in the case of its opponent it is not provided.
• Transition to the PoS algorithm for ETC is not planned, as it is considered to be less secure and less resistant to centralization.

In general, despite the fact that ETC is not that popular and has a smaller capitalization, it was able to gather around itself a sufficient number of adherents. It is a token of a blockchain platform that is also paid as a reward for mining.

The blockchain project helps improve the way values and assets are exchanged in the world of digital money. One of the developers’ goals is to introduce the Internet of Things, which involves interaction between objects in a way that minimizes human involvement.

As of 04.11.2022, the following characteristics can be highlighted:

• value $25.06
• capitalization $3.4 billions
• supply volume 137.7 millions ETC (65%)
• 146.55 TH/s

As mentioned above, ETC is a closer version of Vitalik Buterin’s original idea and adheres to the principles of stability and decentralization. Experts note the high liquidity of the altcoin.

Providing, usage and mining of Ethereum classic

Despite the fact that Classic has no backing in the form of fiat money or any assets, the developers have taken care to maintain its stability. For example, in the form of setting up limited issuance, forks, as well as partnerships with exchanges and large companies.

The main functions, as well as directions for its use, include:

• participating in the launch of smart contracts and applications
• conduction of transactions
• tool for getting rewards for mining
• way to pay for goods or replenish the balance in online services
• exchange transactions

The main ways of obtaining ETCs include:

1. mining
2. purchase
3. transfer

Mining is done through farms or ASIC miners. Both solo mining and pool mining are available if the user chooses. A separate incentive to get ETC is Ethereum’s transition to the PoS algorithm, which occurred on 9/15/2022.

Top 5 pools for ETC mining

• Ethermine
• 2miners
• Hiveon
• F2pool
• Poolin

Ethermine is the largest pool for ETH mining, supports a total of 7 coins and was opened in 2016. According to the average data, about 75 blocks are added per hour. It runs on four servers, and the software is released for Windows and Linux and supports Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. As of 04/11/2022, the hashrate is 26.5 TH/s and the commission is 1% PPLNS.

2miners is a multicurrency pool that supports over 18 coins as well as different mining algorithms. The project is open source, the servers are located on different continents. Free notifications are available via email and Telegram. As of 04/11/2022, hashrate is 17.6 TH/s, the commission is 1% PPLNS.

Hiveon is a stable leader in mining not only ETC, but also ETH. The main feature of the pool is the absence of commissions. Servers for ETC mining are located in Russia, Asia and Europe. There are 3 coins available in the pool. As of 04/11/2022, the hashrate is 15.2 TH/s, 0% PPS+ commission.

F2pool is one of the first pools started in the world. It opened in 2013. Leads not only in ETC mining, but also BTC and LTC. Supports more than 20 coins. As of 04/11/2022, hashrate is 27.7 TH/s, commission 3% PPS.

Poolin is a tech pool with support for 10 coins. It offers comfortable features and tools to work with. Opened in 2017. As of 04/11/2022, the hashrate is 8.0 TH/s, 3% PPS+ commission.

ETC mining is available on 84 pools.

A brief history of Ethereum origins

Ethereum (ETH) differs from Bitcoin only in the presence of smart contacts and some other solutions. The first developments appeared in late 2013, but the main Ethereum network wasn’t launched until July 2015.

In 2016, the Ethereum team launched The DAO, a crowdfunding platform that uses smart contracts.

How Ethereum Classic came to be

In June 2016, unknown hackers discovered a bug in The DAO code that allowed access to the organization’s assets. There were two ways to solve the problem: freeze the stolen assets or roll back the system, and then separate from Ethereum by launching a new blockchain that would be devoid of security problems.

The second option was chosen, and it was called Ethereum Classic. After the hardfork, Ethereum was to continue on ETC, and Ethereum itself was to be abolished. Some market participants disagreed with this decision and after rolling back the code to this day Ethereum, which is called the blockchains’ original, still exists. However, many on the network continue to call ETC – the classic and original Ethereum.

Is it worth investing in Ethereum

On September 15, the Ethereum network migrated to the PoS algorithm and instead of traditional mining, staking became available. However, the expected growth on the background of this momentous event didn’t take place.

Also, after switching to PoS, the network throughput didn’t increase, and transaction fees remained at the same level. Therefore, we wouldn’t recommend investing in Ethereum.

Is it worth investing in Ethereum Classic

Ethereum Classic cryptocurrency lags behind its big brother Ethereum in the rankings, but it is still interesting for market participants. Moreover, ETC has significantly increased in weight due to the influx of ETH miners after Ethereum switched to PoS.

Ethereum Classic, like Ethereum itself, is one of the oldest coins on the market and now all the stores, exchanges, exchangers, and other services work with it. By the way, Ethereum and Ethereum Classic repeat Bitcoin’s price movements and their behavior patterns are almost the same. And many argue that Ethereum Classic is a riskier asset than the original Ethereum.

Conclusion

Ethereum and Ethereum Classic have essentially the same roots, but their development is separate. Dozens of developers are working on improving each network. However, as of today, Ethereum Classic demonstrates the best result.

However, both coins echo the movements of Bitcoin and therefore their upward movement, in the first place, depends largely on the behavior of Bitcoin.

Global economy

Since the global economy is closely tied to the stability of the U.S. dollar, any exchange rate fluctuations can be calculated. For example, America is in a difficult situation today. The debt of $30 trillion is having a negative impact on the economy, and the failure to stop inflation is causing stock indexes to plummet. 

Investors are trying to retain at least part of their investments, and as a result, money is being withdrawn from the technology sector and poured into companies that produce food and other products in demand. And that is not all, because there are also charts and market trends, when people cling to the numbers, which is commonly called resistance, after which the value of assets rises or falls sharply.

Bitcoin Halving

When it comes to Bitcoin, there is a fundamental indicator on the basis of which one can judge sharp exchange rate fluctuations. We are talking about halving.

It should be noted that in 2020 there was a planned reduction in the number of coins per block. So, instead of 12.5 BTC, miners received only 6.25 BTC per block. Since the complexity of mining was constantly increasing, the sharp decrease in the profitability of mining should have led to an increase in the value of the cryptocurrency. 

That’s what happened in 2021, and today Bitcoin is trading more than twice as high as it did in 2020. Experts write that the rate can also be predicted on the basis of an increase in the hashrate. For example, the current value of the first cryptocurrency already includes halving and hashrate growth, and as a result, farmers may not make huge profits, but they can pay off the equipment and get into plus.

Ethereum Classic prospects

Many people know that before Ethereum switched to staking, Ethereum Classic was the main contender for the place of the main cryptocurrency for mining on video cards. And here is a good time to pay attention to the hashrate of this cryptocurrency.  

As you can see, the indicator increased 3-fold over the month, and several days in a row it reached a 6-fold increase. Keep in mind that in the summer the complexity was constantly increasing, so by the end of August the indicator was already 2 times higher than normal. At that time, miners were not yet alarmed, and the profitability didn’t go into minus. But today mining Ethereum Classic (as well as any cryptocurrency on video cards) is unprofitable because you won’t even pay back your power outlet.

There is a very interesting situation: miners continue to persist, while the price is frozen in place. According to experts, Ethereum Classic will soon move to rapid growth. At the moment, the difference between hashrate and profitability doesn’t correspond to the norm, and to go back to the indicators of August, the cryptocurrency must rise in price to 70 dollars. 

There is an opinion that so far, the miners won’t get anything, which means they will dig into minus for a long time. In theory, it will be possible to get a plus after overcoming the $50 mark, but this is if the hashrate of 150 TH/s is maintained, and it is also possible that the complexity of mining will rise or fall.

Conclusion

Since Ethereum Classic rate is firmly tied to Bitcoin, the experts suggest looking exactly in the direction of the first cryptocurrency. And this is where the uncertainty awaits. There are both negative and positive implications. Well, optimists say that with the onset of winter digital gold will begin to grow. 

Stock indexes are already at the bottom, and Bitcoin is trading above $19,000, which is the minimum, below which it cannot retreat. If the optimists are to be believed, we are in for a bullish pre-New Year’s rally. You remember how Bitcoin rose sharply last year, don’t you? 

It is worth remembering that the economies of developed countries are currently in decline. No one knows if ordinary people will want to invest in cryptocurrencies, or if they will prefer to invest their money in real values. 

The most obvious idea was Ethereum Classic (ETC), a hardfork of the Ethereum blockchain that was launched in July 2016 after The DAO was hacked. The decentralized autonomous organization held a $150 million ICO in ETH, and 3 months later was hacked for $60 million.

A solution to this situation was proposed: perform a network hardfork and “roll back” the state of the blockchain before the attack was committed. Part of the Ethereum community did not agree with this solution and supported the pre-fork version – today it is known as Ethereum Classic or ETC.

ETC has no central organization supporting blockchain development, so the network has undergone almost no changes since 2016. It still runs on the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm and pays rewards to miners.

The future of ETC and other options to mine

At the end of August 2022, the price of ETC soared by 69.5% and brought Ethereum Classic to the 18th place by total market capitalization. Now we have a price correction, the coin is trading at $24. By the way its peak price was reached on June 5, 2021 – $134.84.

It is worth mentioning that if at least 10% of miners switch from Ethereum to Ethereum Classic, the probability of creating a new block will be extremely reduced, the total amount of rewards per miner will also decrease, respectively. However, the transition of miners will provoke a strong interest in ETC, which will most likely lead to an increase in the coin’s price.

Today’s Ethereum miners are also considering other cryptocurrencies for GPU mining: Ravencoin (RVN), Einsteinium (EMC2), Verge (XVG) and others. You can calculate the profitability of mining a particular cryptocurrency on the mining calculators.

Many readers are aware of the fact that Ethereum switched to the PoS algorithm, which was a crucial step towards independence from the Bitcoin’s iron heel. The problem is that no matter how many technological chips the Ethereum developers introduce, no matter how many projects operate on the Ethereum blockchain, for most people, Ethereum has always remained a second cryptocurrency. 

With the switch to staking, there is every chance to expect Vitalik Buterin’s “ship” to start its own journey. Whether or not it will be found out in the coming months, but today Ether has continued to fall.

At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency has barely reached the mark of $1356, but it is possible that it will fall much lower. Consequently, there has been a noticeable increase in supply and daily trading. 

Cryptocurrency holders are getting rid of their savings, worried about a collapse on the back of bad news from developers. Unfortunately, by the evening of September 15, no one from the team had shared details with reporters. It is  probable that there is simply no information, because too little time has passed, so experts suggest not to draw far-reaching conclusions. 

It is no longer possible to mine Ether, millions of graphics cards were disable at one time, but did not come to the market. First of all, the community is waiting for the activation of the EthereumPoW fork (ETHW). As a reminder, this is a parasitic offshoot that aims to preserve the ability to mine Ether for those who don’t want to switch to other altcoins. As you have already realized, there are many more questions than answers today, so we are just waiting to see what happens with ETHW and will judge its success later.

Ethereum Classic Hashrate increased by 5 times

But it would be wrong to say that experts’ predictions turned out to be empty words. Note that the complexity of the Ethereum Classic (ETC) network has skyrocketed. On the evening of 15.09.2022, the hashrate passed 305 TH/s. There is a 5-fold increase in ETC mining difficulty.

If you don’t understand what this means, let’s make it short: not long ago, Ether’s hashrate exceeded 900 TH/s and was 20 times higher than ETC. After the blocking of mining, the freed up capacity had to go somewhere. Some of the farmers moved to obscure altcoins, others are waiting for ETHW, but almost half moved their capacity to Ethereum Classic. 

As the hashrate has increased by 5 times, the profits of the miners have collapsed in the same proportion. The only thing worth considering is that just recently a group of farmers came into the network, increasing the hashrate exactly 2 times. It turns out that mining ETC today is a terribly unprofitable process, because you spend more on electricity than you earn. 

Some of our readers have already started smiling to themselves, waiting for miners to go bankrupt, but nothing like that is going to happen. It’s all about the fact that hashrate and coin price are firmly linked. Today was too tough, and the number of investors is clearly not enough to turn the situation around. By the way, 15.09.2022 ETC dai ly trading was almost 2 times higher than usual. This suggests that there is interest from investors. 

We will not claim, because no one can predict the future development of events, but there is every reason to expect that Ethereum Classic will go up in price. Miners are very patient guys, that’s why the rate can stay low for a while, but to get out of the loss, the price needs to go up at least 5 times. As you can see, today due to a sharp jump in hashrate, the profitability has dropped so much that at the current price performance it would take 10 000 days to get back the investment. It is clear that miners will not be happy with such an outcome, so expect surprises. They will not necessarily be good for farmers and investors, because the market very often gives unpleasant surprises.

By the way, Ethereum Classic is not the only one to see a rise in hashrate. For example, the Cortex cryptocurrency has doubled its difficulty, Beam has tripled its hashrate, and Ravencoin has doubled its hashrate. There are others, but the overall increase is tiny, so all the attention today is focused on ETC.

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.

The decision to move Ethereum to staking became known several years ago. For a long time, the situation didn’t change, and the developers talked about their determination, constantly pushing back the deadline. At one point, an ingenious scheme was invented to make the activation of the Proof of Stake (PoS) algorithm almost painless. 

We are talking about the Complexity Bomb, which could be used to reduce the number of coins mined by each farmer, which would inevitably lead to the futility of Ethereum mining. The decision to activate the Complexity Bomb has been constantly postponed, and today this hardfork seems to be completely useless, since the traditional way of mining coins will be finished in September.

It should be pointed out that, not so long ago, you could hear curious comments from prominent experts, confident that there won’t be a refusal of mining on video cards for a long time. We were told that PoS is just a phase in which certain initiatives will be implemented, while coin mining won’t be prohibited to farmers. Such statements were in the air recently, and the main problem lies in the strange behavior of cryptocurrency developers.  

If you study Vitalik Buterin’s interview, you’ll see that this guy is more than happy to talk about complex topics, thinking about the future of Ethereum, but cannot intelligibly answer the simplest questions. A few days ago, it was reported that mining would be finished on September 15, because the largest pool Ethermine announced that it would be shutting down its servers soon. 

Individual activists are trying to put together a fist to attack the network to create a fork, but so far, such actions do not seem to be serious. In the meantime, the developers have released an official bulletin with dates and explanations.

Transition to Ethereum Classic (ETC)

If there were still some hopes, they were damped, but new ones arose immediately. According to experts, more and more miners are leaving the sinking ship of Ethereum due to the ongoing events, and Ethereum Classic (ETC) is now considered a safe haven for mining. 

According to analysts, the cryptocurrency hash rate has more than doubled in 2 months and today reaches 50.13 terrahash. The previous record of 30.9 terrahash was beaten in 2 weeks, even though at that time the ETC price was several times higher than the current one. There is an opinion that Ethereum miners will continue moving to ETC, because there are almost no other alternatives.

It is assumed that there are only a few solutions in this situation. First of all, it is possible to completely sell the equipment. But this is only suitable for those who have several rigs with video cards at home, and large farms are not able to sell their hardware so quickly.  And they won’t want to do it because the money loss will be too high. You can hope for the development of the Ethereum PoW fork, but the chances are slim. 

Well, the easiest solution would be to transfer your power to mine Ethereum Classic. This cryptocurrency is as close as possible to Ethereum, which means that it guarantees approximately the same hash rate, but it’s more complicated with income.

So, already today the earnings of ETC miners have collapsed. The hash rate has risen, while the value is still low. At the same time, the more miners will come to the network, the less coins will fall as a premium to each of them. Obviously, only sharp ETC price growth can save the situation, but nothing like that has happened yet. 

In this case, it is important to emphasize the word “yet”. According to analysts, the Whales are withdrawing Ethereum en masse from cold wallets and transferring their coins to centralized exchanges. One of the major episodes of cryptocurrency market formation is unfolding before us.  

No one knows in what direction the Ethereum exchange rate will go, and the big fish are getting ready for the big jump. If you ask our opinion, we expect the ETC exchange rate to rise 5-10 times within a month. We don’t urge you to buy or sell anything, as even big analysts are wrong more often than not.

The transition to PoS was supposed to cause a boom, but the vague timeline and unclear policy of the developers led investors to withdraw money from a dubious asset. But if holders of Ethereum still have a chance to take back their investments, miners, however, found themselves in a predicament. It’s all about the fact that, with the drop rate, yield has also dropped and electricity prices are rising across the planet. Video cards are getting cheaper, and the prospects are lacking.

Over the past few weeks, cryptocurrencies have risen quite nicely. Bitcoin is now at the level of $23,000, and Ethereum – $1600. Opinions are divided on the reasons for what is happening, but many experts are inclined to believe that there is no fundamental reason for the growth of digital assets, and therefore the main driving force may be speculators and Whales. If the first are trying to get rich quick by swaying the market, the big fish are playing for the long haul. 

In the first half of the year, holders of large fortunes in Bitcoin increased their savings, but more recently their wallets have begun to deplete. It should be understood that there is no exact data on this since such manipulations take place behind closed doors.

But back to our miners. Many miners are afraid that after the transition of Ethereum to PoS they will have to sell their video cards at low prices. The market will collapse, and even at the current rather high prices of the cryptocurrency, it will be quite difficult to quickly recoup investments.

Ethereum Classic surpassed Ethereum in profitability  

Many are hoping for an alternative token that can replace Ethereum and receive the giant batch of miners. Until recently, there were several options, but none of them were capable of equaling Ethereum in terms of yield. 

But by all appearances, we have a worthy competitor. Pay attention to the chart above. As you can see the price of Ethereum Classic increased 3 times in the last two weeks of July. Experts say that if the dynamics of this cryptocurrency won’t change, it will soon be much more profitable to mine ETC than Ethereum. Except this isn’t the case, because it has already happened.

Now pay attention to the table below. This is the data of the earnings calculator for the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics card. It is not necessary to cling to the numbers, because there is a recommended price for this graphics chip at the time of the launch, but in this case, the other thing is important. 

According to calculations, it takes 340 days to return the investment with Ethereum, while mining Ethereum Classic it will happen in 337 days. In this case, these three days are not as important as the fact that for the first time in many years there is a cryptocurrency whose profitability allows not to worry about the transition of Ethereum to PoS. There will be no rapid transfer of farms to this altcoin, but that isn’t necessary today. For a long time, miners thought of network merging and staking as a doomsday. It looks like there’s no need to worry anymore.

Experts believe that more and more altcoins will become more expensive as the timing of Ethereum’s transition to PoS approaches. Obviously, Ethereum Classic won’t be left alone. Not only that, but there is an opinion that in the future there won’t be just some single altcoin that will accept all miners.

Here it is worth turning to the numbers. Today, Ethereum is worth $1,621 and Ethereum Classic is worth $36. In order to take at least 20% of all miners, the alternative cryptocurrency must rise in price by at least 10 times. It is extremely difficult to calculate accurately, but it isn’t even a matter of calculations, because there are millions of video cards mining Ethereum today. Even a small percentage can significantly reduce the profitability of any other asset. 

Conclusion

It is highly doubtful that Ethereum Classic will increase in price as the hashrate increases, but let’s leave such thoughts at least until October, because around that time PoS is expected to arrive.

Ethereum transition to PoS 

The fact that sooner or later Ethereum will switch to PoS has been known for a long time. Vitalik Buterin talked about it a few years ago, proving the prospects of staking, both technologically and environmentally. Obviously, even if Vitalik himself doesn’t think much about the problems of overconsumption of electricity, the effect of shutting down tens of millions of graphics chips will be huge. It won’t happen overnight, but by the middle of 2023 we may see a complete abandonment of the traditional way of mining Ethereum.

There is an opinion that this phenomenon will have serious consequences. Some believe that Ethereum’s exchange rate will bottom out, expecting a prolonged crypto winter. But there are also those who expect a sharp rise. We don’t know what will actually happen, but recent events suggest that the market keeps track of what is going on.

Recently, the developers held an online conference, in which they named the launch date of the test networks, as well as a preliminary date of Ethereum’s transition to PoS. It is noted that the data is preliminary, as it does not consider possible postponements due to detection of certain critical errors. In any case, staking is near, and blocking of mining is not far off. 

You have heard all this many times before, but there is an important nuance that many people forget about. The thing is that miners began to prepare for the blocking of Ethereum long before the developers started talking about it in earnest. The search for a safe haven wasn’t successful, because in recent years there wasn’t a single candidate that would be able to replace Ethereum. 

In fact, there are a few coins that are mined with video cards, but most of them are frankly unprofitable, and miners dig them upfront. Many people hope that after the blocking of Ethereum this or that cryptocurrency will become the main one for the community of miners and will make good money for those who are mining it today.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) – a replacement for miners

According to many experts, ETC is the most likely candidate to replace Ethereum. Notice that when recently Ethereum went up by 27%, which is quite a lot, ETC managed to go up by 45%, which means that we have witnessed the market’s expectations turning into reality. 

It is still difficult to say how the situation will develop, but there are internal problems that are impossible to ignore. GeForce GTX 1080 Ti video card has almost similar income on Ethereum and ETC, but GeForce RTX 3070 is extremely unprofitable in the second case, which means it is more difficult to mine an alternative cryptocurrency.

That’s not all, because we forget that such profitability is only noticeable today, when the complexity of the network is minimal, because the number of miners there is negligible. Imagine that on January 1, 2023, 90% of all miners that are mining Ethereum will end up on the street. That would increase the complexity of mining ETC by at least 10 times, which means the profitability would collapse.

Each miner will receive 10 times less money for his/her efforts, and only a sharp increase in the value of the alternative cryptocurrency can save the situation. Without this, it is premature to take ETC, as well as any altcoin, seriously. Unfortunately, analysts have expressed doubts that there is currently a cryptocurrency capable of becoming a haven for all miners.

Conclusion

It is possible that the community will divide into several opposing camps, which will compete with each other, and at some point a price status quo will be established, allowing farmers to earn a stable income. Even if there are three or four cryptocurrencies, there is every reason to say that Vitalik Buterin’s idea of reducing the impact of mining on the environment will remain a blue-sky thinking. Millions of video cards won’t just disappear, and the big players are used to making money this way. Who’s to say that all these guys are going to leave the market overnight?

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.