Ethereum Classic Coming after our contract and holder checks finish for this coin. See the Scorecard for every call so far.
What it is
Ethereum Classic is the original Ethereum chain that kept running after a 2016 split. That year, a large hack drained an early project called The DAO. Most of the Ethereum community chose to rewrite history to return the stolen funds, creating the Ethereum most people know today. A minority refused, arguing that a blockchain's record should never be changed, and kept the original chain going as Ethereum Classic.
ETC still runs smart contracts and works much like early Ethereum, but it took a different path on security. Ethereum moved to proof of stake in 2022; Ethereum Classic stayed with proof-of-work mining, using an algorithm called ETChash that runs on graphics cards. Miners earn new ETC for producing blocks. There is no single company in charge; development and upgrade proposals come from a loose group of community developers and organizations.
Its supply is capped at about 210.7 million ETC. Under a rule called 5M20, the mining reward drops by 20% every 5 million blocks, roughly every two and a half years. An upgrade proposal called Olympia, still being debated in 2026, would add Ethereum-style base fees and send them to an on-chain treasury governed by votes; how much would go to miners is not settled.
What can go wrong
- Because its mining power is small compared with the hardware that could be pointed at it, ETC has suffered repeated 51% attacks; in August 2020 alone, attackers rewrote its history three times, including one reorganization of over 7,000 blocks.
- Developer and app activity is far smaller than on Ethereum, so the token has fewer real uses than its name suggests.
- Many buyers confuse ETC with ETH; they are separate coins on separate networks, and sending one to an address meant for the other can cause losses.
- Exchanges have raised confirmation times for ETC deposits after attacks, which can slow access to funds.
Ethereum Classic is not Ethereum. Check the ticker (ETC versus ETH) and the network every time you buy, send or deposit.
Safety checks
- Track recordGoodTrading since 2016, about 10 years. It has been through at least one full market cycle.
- Trading activityGood$41.1 million traded in the last 24 hours, 3.3% of its market value. That's enough activity that a normal-size order shouldn't move the price.
- Coins still to comeCaution158.8 million of 210.7 million maximum coins are in circulation, so about 25% are still to be released. New coins entering the market can push the price down as they're sold.
- Distance from its peakRed flagDown 95% from its all-time high of $167.09 in May 2021. Most people who bought near the top have lost most of their money. A big drop doesn't make a coin cheap.
- Past yearFor context−50.7% over the past year, against −25.3% for bitcoin. It has done worse than simply holding bitcoin.
History of trouble and big events
- Jul 2016: Ethereum Classic continued the original chain after Ethereum reversed The DAO hack.
- Aug 2020: ETC suffered three 51% attacks in one month, one reorganizing more than 7,000 blocks.
Holding a token on a smaller network, or got sent one you don't recognize? Run its address through the free checker. Copycat tokens often borrow big names.