Ethereum Classic (also known as ETC) is a decentralized, blockchain-based, open-source computing forum that is also a cryptocurrency. It lets developers build as well as deploy intelligent contracts—independent, self-executing code blocks that initiate specific actions based on conditions that are predefined.
The ETC network is permissionless, that means any individual can join or perform transactions if they have a crypto wallet that is compatible. Ethereum Classic was created in the year 2016, due to an ideological and technical split within the Ethereum community, following the infamous DAO attack.
Everything you need to know about Ethereum Classic
With the usage of smart contracts, it is likely to build a Decentralized Autonomous Organization, also known as DAO, on Ethereum. Simply speaking, the governance and decision-making instrument of a DAO is codified, and it does not need any human interventions, so to say.
In the year 2016, the German startup Slock launched its DAO task on Ethereum, called “The DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).” While the project raised more than $150 million at the time of crowdfunding, hackers manipulated a loophole in its smart contract, which led to the theft of $50 million in the process. Most of the Ethereum users—including inventors Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood—supported a radical change in the blockchain’s ground protocol or a hard fork that could help them in the restoration of the funds. It resulted in the formation of the new Ethereum (ETH) chain.
Features of Ethereum Classic
Ethereum Classic is different because it preserves the initial Ethereum blockchain. The Ethereum Classic blockchain operates on the proof-of-work protocol to validate transactions that need extensive computing resources to mine ETC. On the other hand, both Ethereum Classic and Ethereum presently use the proof-of-work approach, Ethereum also uses a different concurrence mechanism that is called proof of stake (and is slowly transitioning to using only this protocol).
You can invest in Ethereum or Ethereum classic using the cryptocurrency exchange in India. However, doing your own research and then investing in the primary note that you must keep in mind.
Differences between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic
In terms of basic functionalities, ETC and ETH are the same. For example, creators can use open-source code to design and run the desired decentralized applications (DApps). The developers can also create ERC-20 tokens as per their wishes for their applications.
After we know the details, Ethereum Classic’s preliminary factor that differentiates it is its incompatibility with updates on the ETH blockchain. By description, a hard fork is a backward-incompatible update. By implementing a new set of rules, the new chain, and its users (nodes) are entirely cut off from the foremost chain. Therefore, the original chain (Ethereum Classic) cannot access any updates on the new chain (Ethereum).
Now, the question arises – What is the need for ETC in any case? if it is unable to be updated by the developers? As we have already mentioned, the footing of the Ethereum Classic is more on the ideological side than the other counterparts in the market. Its most significant relevance, or importance, so to say, lies in preserving the authentic and undiluted Ethereum code. With this logic, ETC functions as an unaltered documented record of the Ethereum network.