Ethereum Classic Price

What Is Ethereum Classic?

A decentralized cryptocurrency platform, Ethereum Classic resulted from a hard fork of Ethereum following a major hacking incident in 2016. Ethereum Classic can be perceived as an extension, or continuation, of the original Ethereum blockchain. The Classic version preserves all of the network’s history, and is safe from any form of external manipulation.

What Is ETC?

ETC is the native token of the Ethereum Classic blockchain. Like ETH, ETC can be used to execute smart contracts on Ethereum Classic. However, only ETH can be used to pay for Ethereum's smart contract services, even though ETC and ETH share the same history. The ETC token operates on a decentralized proof of work (PoW) protocol and is currently mined via the Ethash algorithm.

Ethereum Classic/ETC Price and Tokenomics

ETC recorded an ATH (all-time high) of $167.09 on May 6, 2021, and an ATL (all-time low) of approximately $0.62 on July 25, 2016. Ethereum Classic has a fixed maximum supply of about 211 million ETC. Its token distribution is currently unknown.

For the real-time price statistics of ETC, please refer to the chart at the top of this page.

Who Is the Founder of Ethereum Classic?

Ethereum Classic was co-founded by Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood, the well-known founders of Ethereum. However, according to Ethereum Classic’s website, it’s not led by any team per se. Rather, anyone can participate in the global, community-based and permissionless project. Respected developer Igor Artamonov, who’s also the founder of crypto wallet Emerald, has participated in the platform's development.

After a 2016 attack on the DAO saw over 3.6 million ETH stolen, the Ethereum Foundation proposed a hard fork that proved successful in returning investor funds. The attack also spurred the formation of Ethereum Classic.

What Is ETC Used For?

ETC powers various programs and activities on the Ethereum Classic blockchain, including DApps, DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) and smart contracts. Additionally, it moves value on Ethereum Classic’s L1 network.

How Does Ethereum Classic Work?

Like Ethereum, Ethereum Classic runs smart contracts — software, stored on a blockchain, which automatically runs when agreed-upon terms and conditions have been met — without any possibility of fraud or third-party interference. Just as ETH is used to execute smart contracts on Ethereum, ETC can be used to execute them on Ethereum Classic.

Since the hard fork, Ethereum and Ethereum Classic have had different development teams. Unlike the Ethereum team, the Ethereum Classic team believes that code is law. Once a contract has been deployed, no one, including developers, can change its terms. This preventive measure was implemented in the aftermath of the Ethereum hack to preserve the integrity of the legacy chain.

To ensure the network remains resistant to attack, Ethereum Classic employs a proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism that rewards miners with ETC for verifying transactions and maintaining the blockchain.

Following The Merge (Ethereum’s transition to proof of stake), existing miners on Ethereum will be forced to shut down their mining rigs or switch to compatible PoW networks, including Ethereum Classic. According to Fortune magazine on Sept. 6, 2022, interest in the blockchain has increased significantly, with the Ethereum Classic hashrate achieving an all-time high of 51.60 terahashes per second (TH/s).

Unlike other blockchains, Ethereum Classic hasn’t implemented any major changes or upgrades to its codebase since its launch.

Challenges

One critical issue that’s held Ethereum Classic back is insufficient scalability to fully support the development of DApps (decentralized applications).

The security of Ethereum Classic is another major concern. The network has been hit by a series of high-profile attacks in recent years. For example, in January 2019, a hacker exploited a flaw in the blockchain's smart contract code and stole over $1 million worth of ETC from Coinbase. To date, Ethereum Classic has experienced four 51% attacks.

Despite these challenges, Ethereum Classic continues to attract developers and users who believe in Ethereum's original vision of serving as a decentralized platform that can’t be censored or shut down.

What Makes Ethereum Classic Unique?

Deflationary Mechanism

Ethereum Classic features a deflationary token mechanism that’s similar to Bitcoin’s. For every five million blocks, a halving event occurs that reduces the block reward by half. This mechanism puts continuous downward pressure on ETC's price and encourages people to hold the token rather than spend it.

Strong Community

Among the strongest and most committed in the cryptocurrency space, the Ethereum Classic community consists of nearly 16k members on Discord, roughly 65k members on Reddit and about 666k followers on Twitter, at the time of this writing.

Market-Wide Support

ETC is supported by major exchanges and wallets including Coinbase, Bybit, Kraken and Ledger Nano S, giving traders access to a high level of liquidity.

How to Store ETC

The Ethereum Classic token can be stored on any ETC-compatible wallet, including hardware wallets such as the Ledger Nano S, and software wallets such as MetaMask.

How to Buy ETC

You can buy ETC from top crypto exchanges, including Bybit.

Buying ETC on Bybit

To purchase ETC on Bybit, simply follow these steps:

1. Head to Bybit’s spot trading page (Home → Trade → Spot Trading).
2. Select your trading pair on the left side of the page. For ETC, you can trade with USDT (ETC/USDT), or go long or short with ETC2L/USDT and ETC2S/USDT respectively.
3. Choose the type of order you’d like to make: Limit Order, Market Order or Conditional Order.

For Limit Orders:

1. Select Limit.
2. Enter the order price.
3. Enter the number of ETC you want to buy.
4. Click on Buy ETC.
5. Once you’ve confirmed your information is correct, click on Buy ETC.
6. View your order details under Active on the web page, or Orders if you’re using the Bybit app.

For Market Orders:

1. Select Market.
2. Enter the amount of USDT you’ve paid to buy ETC.
3. Click on Buy ETC.
4. Once you’ve confirmed your information is correct, click on Buy ETC.
5. View your order details under Filled.

For Conditional Orders:

1. Select Conditional.

2. Enter the trigger price.

3. Choose to execute at Market Price or Limit Price.

1. Market Price: Order price doesn’t need to be set.

2. Limit Price: Order price needs to be set.

4. According to order types:

1. Market Buy: Enter the amount in USDT you’ve paid to buy ETC.

2. Limit Buy: Enter the number of ETC you want to buy.

5. Click on Buy ETC.

6. Once you’ve confirmed your information is correct, click on Buy ETC.

7. View your order details under Conditional on the web page, or All Orders → Current Orders on the Bybit app.

For more help, visit the Bybit spot trading guide.