Ethereum Classic

Ethereum Classic (ETC) is the original, unaltered Ethereum blockchain that continued operating after the contentious 2016 hard fork triggered by the DAO hack. In June 2016, a vulnerability in The DAO — a decentralized venture capital fund built on Ethereum — was exploited, draining roughly 3.6 million ETH (worth approximately $60 million at the time). The Ethereum community faced a philosophical crisis: should they roll back the blockchain to recover the stolen funds, or honor the immutable nature of the ledger? The majority chose to fork, creating what we now call Ethereum (ETH). Those who refused to alter the blockchain's history continued on the original chain, which became Ethereum Classic.

Ethereum Classic maintains the core principle that blockchain transactions should be irreversible and that 'code is law' — meaning smart contract outcomes should stand regardless of whether humans consider them fair. This philosophical stance attracted developers and supporters who believed that immutability is the most fundamental property of a public blockchain. The project has its own development teams, including IOHK (led by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson), ETC Cooperative, and ETC Labs, who have continued to maintain and upgrade the network.

Unlike Ethereum, which transitioned to Proof of Stake in 2022 through The Merge, Ethereum Classic remains committed to Proof of Work mining using the Ethash algorithm. This positions ETC as one of the largest mineable smart contract platforms. The network implemented a fixed monetary policy with a maximum supply cap of approximately 210.7 million ETC, making it deflationary compared to its pre-Merge Ethereum origins. By 2026, Ethereum Classic serves as a philosophical counterpoint to Ethereum — offering the same foundational technology with an unwavering commitment to immutability and decentralized consensus through mining.