At present, Ethereum Classic is ranked 28 by market cap, while Ethereum (ETH) is in the top 2 and has a higher valuation too, according to CoinMarketCap. Read on to find out all about them and the latest development in their twin destinies, and don’t forget to track their current prices on
CoinSwitch
.
All about Ethereum Classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) is a decentralized, blockchain-based open-source computing platform. It allows developers to create and deploy smart contracts, and host and support decentralized applications (dApps). Ethereum Classic’s native token is ETC.
Sporting a green logo as opposed to the black, white, and gray Ethereum logo, Ethereum Classic and what we now call
Ethereum
were created as the result of a hard fork in the network from July 2016. The original Ethereum (now known as Ethereum Classic), a blockchain-based investing cooperative organized as a decentralized autonomous organization, was just a year old at the time when some hackers discovered flaws in its code and stole $50 million in the native token Ether (ETH). The fork was carried out to retrieve the stolen funds. Most Ethereum users, including founders Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood, supported the hard fork in the aftermath of the attack.
However, some members of the community were against it because they believed that blockchains cannot be manipulated by human whims; so they stuck with the old chain, renaming it Ethereum Classic (ETC).
Why did ETC move over the past month?Since the beginning of 2021, the ETC price has risen significantly due to an increase in cryptocurrency prices and renewed development activity on the Ethereum Classic blockchain. Despite the volatility of the crypto market, such a rally is not all that uncommon. So let us look at factors that might have triggered the sharp upmove:
- The PoS factor. Ethereum is getting ready to transition to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol in the second quarter of 2022. The move that reduces Ethereum’s environmental costs is proving to be a blessing for its Classic sibling, as Ethereum miners are switching to Ethereum Classic ahead of it. A possible reason for this could be due to the fact that some value Proof-of-Work more. While the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism is considered greener, many believe the PoW protocol provides the most decentralization and security.
- Ethereum Classic’s rigid ideology. The Classic community strongly believes in the principle that “code is law”; its ideological differences with Ethereum were partially the cause of the hard fork. Sticking to the original code, Ethereum Classic has pledged to remain a PoW crypto. While remaining a PoW, ETC relaunched the Mantis Client and emergency upgrades by the Core-Geth protocol provider, which may have increased user confidence in the blockchain’s stability.
What does the upmove mean for Ethereum?
To a large extent, the Ethereum Classic rally is connected to the much-awaited ETH 2.0 launching this year in June. With
Ethereum 2.0,
Ethereum will finally move to PoS, but its relatively conventional sibling Ethereum Classic has no plans of following suit. With this update, the two cryptos will thus add another major point of departure to the existing list of ideological differences.
Ethereum’s high gas fees have been a major concern in recent times. Critics frequently cite the network’s high fees as a fatal flaw, but with Ethereum 2.0, there is a promise of lower gas fees. The Ethereum 2.0 upgrade aims to make the crypto more scalable, secure, and sustainable, with the aim of earning the goodwill of eco-friendly folks. But we don’t know yet if that will work out; whether the recent ETC upmove is a temporary thing, or if ETH will indeed successfully gain more users, only time can tell.
Wrap-up: Implications for crypto buyers
As far as the crypto market is concerned, the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade will make high-powered computers competing to solve puzzles as a way of mining new ETH a thing of the past. Also, this upgrade will make ETH greener. And a legion of users is betting the smart contract blockchain will maintain its position at the top. There is also a chance that Ethereum 2.0 will silence its competition, including Solana and Avalanche.
With the impending race to dominate the smart contract race and the competition between ETC and ETH, it may not be a bad idea to have both cryptos in one’s portfolios. Both coins are available at
CoinSwitch
, at the best rates.
Disclaimer
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