ETC/GBP - Ethereum Classic British Pound

The Ethereum network and Ethereum Classic protocol operate more or less on the same mining algorithm, and they also perform similar functions in the blockchain ecosystem. However, the major difference lies in the fact that the Ethereum network rolled back a series of transactions to cover the loss of investor funds while the Ethereum Classic did not. Another key difference is that the Ethereum Classic is a backward-compatible protocol which means any update on the Ethereum network will not reflect on it. This extends to the expected transition of Ethereum to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol in the coming year.

Ethereum Classic is a decentralized, smart contract protocol that enables the building of dApps or DAOs on its network. Serving as a base layer protocol, Ethereum Classic is useful in the development of DeFi and NFTs. Ethereum Classic is a fork of the popular Ethereum network and is considered the unbroken historical record of the first smart contracts network. The split within the Ethereum network happened in 2016 due to ideological and technical differences in the Ethereum community and the DAO hack that led to the loss of over $70 million. Discover more about what crypto is and how it works in our Academy.

Ethereum Classic is more or less Ethereum in its original build. This feature makes it depend on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm for validating transactions on its blockchain. To mine Ethereum Classic, you can use GPUs or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners. ETC uses an Ethash mining algorithm which makes using a GPU mining machine more effective than ASIC miners. Another option would be to join an Ethereum Classic mining pool, especially if you lack the technical expertise to set up and maintain the miners. This way, you combine your computational power with other pool miners and get rewarded. A slew of services offer this option, and you can check some of them out before starting.

Like several crypto assets, Ethereum Classic is mainly stored on digital wallets. You can choose to own a private wallet to store Ethereum Classic and any other virtual asset that catches your fancy. However, several exchanges and brokers offer crypto wallet services, and you can choose to use this option to forestall the eventuality of losing your private keys.

Ethereum Classic is readily available in several top Bitcoin exchanges. Popular choices are Binance, Coinbase, FTX, Huobi Global, and Kraken. Meanwhile, many cryptocurrency brokers also support Ethereum Classic; a popular choice is social trading leader eToro, which supports Ethereum Classic and several other top-ranking virtual currencies.

At press time, there are 130,489,144.32 Ethereum Classic coins in circulation, and this represents about 62% of the entirety of the 210,700,000 Ethereum Coins that will ever be  produced.

Like the popular Ethereum network, you can buy Ethereum Classic from many crypto exchanges or brokers that support it. All you have to do is create an account with one, make a fiat deposit, and buy ETC. The requisite amount of ETC relative to your deposits will be added to your portfolio, making you one of the original holders of the first Ethereum network.

Like the Ethereum blockchain, Ethereum Classic has a variety of use cases. Denoted by the ticker ETC, Ethereum Classic supports smart contracts used in building decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized autonomous organisations (DAOs).  Ethereum Classic performs the same functionalities as the newer Ethereum network. This means it is applicable in sub-sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). ETC users also have to pay gas fees when they use the protocol.

Ethereum Classic was formed in 2016, a year after the launch of the smart contracts protocol Ethereum. The split happened because the development team of Ethereum wanted to roll back a series of transactions to recover $70 million lost in a DAO. This led to divided interests among the team, with the Ethereum Classic faction upholding the ‘Code is Law’ principle.

Ethereum Classic was created in 2016 following a split within the Ethereum development community over the team’s handling of the decentralized autonomous organisation (DAO) hack. The popular Ethereum network chose to roll back those transactions in a bid to recover investor funds while the others kicked against the idea, noting that this could become the norm for the coming years. Holding onto the principle of ‘Code is Law,’ the Ethereum Classic protocol was formed to preserve the history of the first smart contracts blockchain.