What is Ethereum Classic (ETC)?
Ethereum Classic (ETC) is a proof-of-work smart contract blockchain that continues Ethereum's original, unaltered history after rejecting the 2016 hard fork. According to Ethereum Classic's official materials, after a project called 'The DAO' was hacked in June 2016 and roughly 3.6 million ETH was drained, the Ethereum community carried out a hard fork in July 2016 to reverse those transactions.
Ethereum Classic is the original chain that opposed that fork and kept the principle that 'a recorded blockchain should never be reversed.' For that reason Ethereum Classic is often described not as the branch that split off, but as the 'original Ethereum' that carried on without rewriting its history.
How is Ethereum Classic different from Ethereum?
Ethereum Classic's core value is immutability. Ethereum Classic follows the 'Code is Law' principle, meaning smart contracts execute exactly as written and no one steps in afterward to cancel transactions or edit the ledger.
Ethereum Classic contrasts on this point with Ethereum (ETH), which has changed its rules flexibly through community consensus. Ethereum Classic is still compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), so it can host the same kind of smart contracts and tokens, and the Olympia upgrade proposals published by its community in 2026 include aligning with Ethereum's latest execution-layer changes.
What is the supply of Ethereum Classic?
Ethereum Classic has a capped supply. Under the ECIP-1017 '5M20' monetary policy, the block reward falls by 20% every 5 million blocks, and total issuance is designed to converge to about 210.7 million ETC, a clear difference from Ethereum, which has no fixed supply cap.
Ethereum Classic went through its fifth scheduled reward reduction around block 25 million in 2026, cutting the block reward from 2.048 ETC to 1.6384 ETC, according to the Ethereum Classic blog and ECIP-1017. These reductions apply automatically under rules set in advance.
Why does Ethereum Classic still use Proof of Work?
Ethereum Classic kept Proof of Work (PoW), in which miners compete with computing power, even after Ethereum moved to Proof of Stake (PoS) in its September 2022 'Merge.' The Ethereum Classic community links PoW to its immutability philosophy, arguing that it protects the record without outside intervention.
Ethereum Classic became a leading destination for GPU miners who could no longer mine Ethereum after the Merge. As of 2026, the Ethereum Classic community is also discussing and advancing the Olympia upgrade, which includes an EIP-1559-style fee market and an on-chain treasury, and whether and when it activates depends on network consensus.
What are the risks of Ethereum Classic?
Ethereum Classic highlights its 'never reverse' principle, EVM compatibility, and PoW-based mining ecosystem as strengths, and it carries the symbolism of being the chain that preserves Ethereum's original form.
Ethereum Classic has a smaller hash rate than large PoW chains such as Bitcoin, and it suffered several '51% attacks' that led to double-spends in January 2019 and August 2020. This security risk is common to smaller PoW chains, so it is wise to understand how Ethereum Classic works and what kind of asset it is before engaging with it.
