All about the Ethereum Classic and its price

Ethereum Classic (ETC) is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum Classic blockchain, a smart contract platform that allows dApp development. It is a split from the Ethereum blockchain, the decentralized network supporting the second most popular cryptocurrency ETH.

The ETC Blockchain

The ETC blockchain is an open-source and decentralized platform that features smart contract functionalities to enable creation and deployment of dApps (Decentralized Applications).

It uses Proof of Work consensus mechanism to validate transactions and add new blocks. Miners have to compete to be the first to solve complex mathematical problems to win the block rewards. Proof of Work also helps with its security.

The Blockchain’s Origin

The ETC blockchain came into existence in July 2016, when the DAO, a decentralised autonomous organisation built on the ETH network, was hacked.

The DAO raised over $150 million USD worth of ether from investors, and was intended to be used to fund projects that would be voted on by the DAO's token holders.

However, due to a flaw in its code, the DAO was hacked, and someone was able to siphon off around one third of the funds that had been raised. A consequence of the hack was a hard fork. The hard fork created two separate blockchains: ETH (the new version) and ETC (the original version).

ETC has continued to maintain the original vision of Ethereum as a decentralized platform that can be used to build dApps, while the ETH network has become a more general purpose smart contract platform.

The native token

ETC is the native token of the ETC blockchain Network. It has several use cases in the platform. Its holders can use it to pay for transaction gas, use smart contracts, and interact with dApps. It is also governance token.

The tokens have a max supply cap of 210,700,000 ETC coins. There are currently 136,178,157 of the digital coins in public circulation. The demand and supply of these tokens dictates the price. The current price of ETC (as of 22/08/2022 is 27.31GBP) The tokens are available for purchase on several crypto exchanges including Binance, OKX, and Bybit.

As per Coinmarketcap, ETC tokens are currently the 19th largest cryptocurrency in the world with a live market cap of $5,139,474,019.

Notable occurrences

In January 2019 the ETC Blockchain suffered a 51% attack. The hackers who orchestrated the attack later returned the stolen funds.

In July 2020, the network again fell victim to 51% attacks. After the attacks the Ethash epoch duration was increased from 30,000 to 60,000, solving a critical security issue for the platform.

Bottom line

ETC is one of a few cryptocurrencies performing pretty well in the crypto market. Several cryptocurrency prediction platforms predict better prices are on the horizon for the coin, making it a potentially great investment option.

While the coin’s price doesn’t make it great for beginner crypto investors, it is still worth some consideration. The cryptocurrency can be bought in lots of exchanges with fiat money.