Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic: Comparison Between ETH And ETC

The Ethereum blockchain came into existence in 2014. However, a massive hack forced the developers to go for a hard fork, resulting in a rollback of its DAO-related transactions. This led to the creation of the Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

They are separate from each other and have their features and goals.

Here's a detailed guide on Ethereum's history and the major differences between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

Background to Ethereum's creation

In July 2014, Vitalik Buterin decided to raise funds for Ethereum via a crowd sale. He created the DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organisation) that allowed probable investors to pitch and discuss ideas and reap the rewards when they got successful. In April 2016, this campaign raised over $150 million, making itself one of the world's largest crowdfunding campaigns. 

One had to buy DAO tokens using Ether to invest in DAO. All was going well, except DAO had a major flaw in its coding. A 'Split Function' allows investors to withdraw their support from a project. Once withdrawn, the investor would get back Ether and have the option to create a 'Child DAO'. Also, the withdrawn funds can be accessed only after 28 days, and the public ledger will be updated by then. 

Some users found a loophole in DAO's code. The system refunded the same DAO tokens upon withdrawing their support without registering the transaction on the public ledger. The flaw was that the DAO smart contract returned the Ether before the public ledger got updated. Hackers drained 11.5 million Ether amounting to $50 million at that time. 

Due to the 28-day rule, the exploiters failed to get away with the money. To rectify this situation, Ethereum had to undergo a hard fork. Thus it was divided into two different coins. Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. 

Ethereum aimed to return all the Ether that investors had lost. It has a lot of similarities and a few major differences that set them apart. 

Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic: Parameters

You can understand the difference between these blockchains based on the following parameters. They are:

1. Mining process

Ethereum Classic uses the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism for mining. In this process, miners use high-powered ASIC computers to find valid hashes to mine a block. The miners themselves act as validators of a block. The miner gets cryptocurrency and other fees as block rewards upon mining the block. 

Ethereum currently uses Proof-of-Work (PoW) but plans to shift to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. This will make the network faster and more efficient and increase its scalability.   

2. Limit

Ethereum Classic has a total supply limit of approximately 210.70 million ETC. After mining all the tokens on the network is done, the miners will get transaction fees as rewards. 

Ethereum, on the other hand, has an unlimited supply. However, the growth rate is limited to 4.5% per year. 

3. Immutability

On the Ethereum Classic network, you cannot change data after it is logged into the system. This system of immutability helps prevent the tampering of data on the blockchain. 

Ethereum allows you to replace or cancel a pending transaction for a fee. This helps you when the transaction does not enter the block even after a long time has passed since its initiation. 

4. Value

If you consider market cap and individual token value, Ethereum is far ahead of Ethereum Classic. Ethereum's value is also based on the fact that investors trust it as a safe place to invest, and it is also because it offers a wide range of investment opportunities. 

5. Smart contracts

Ethereum and Ethereum Classic both use smart contracts. The former uses an advanced token called ERC-20 for creating and issuing smart contracts. Many digital currencies follow this standard, like Maker (MKR), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Augur (REP), OMG Network (OMG) and many more. You can use them to operate smart contracts on the Ethereum network.

6. Wallets supported

The list of crypto wallets that supports Ethereum are:

• MetaMask
• Ledger Nano S
• Ledger Nano X
• Rainbow Wallet
• Trezor
• Argent
• Guarda
• Atomic Wallet
• Exodus
• MyEtherWallet and many more
• KeepKey
• Jaxx

The list of crypto wallets that supports Ethereum Classic are:

• ABRA 
• AToken
• Atomic Wallet
• Alpha Wallet
• Button Wallet
• Kobo
• Coin Wallet
• Coinomi
• Edge
• Emerald Wallet
• Ownbit
• Tokenview and many more

7. Supported exchange platforms

The following exchange platforms support Ethereum:

• Coinbase
• Crypto.com
• Binance
• Shakepay
• Kraken
• KuCoin
• Bitpanda
• Huobi
• Coinmama and many more

The following exchange platforms support Ethereum Classic:

• eToro
• Crypto.com
• Coinbase
• Binance and many more

8. Decentralised applications

When it comes to decentralised applications, Ethereum is the clear winner. It has the largest collection of dApps in the current market. 

Some dApps on Ethereum are:

• Uniswap
• Matcha
• 1inch
• Aave
• Compound
• Oasis
• Dark Forest
• Foundation
• PoolTogether
• Zapper
• Rotki and many more

A few dApps Of Ethereum Classic are:

• Multichain
• ETC Swap
• NFT List 
• CoinRabbit
• Lazy Lions
• Celsius Network
• Cryptwerk
• ETC-to-wETC and many more

The future of Ethereum and Ethereum Classic

There are many similarities between these two blockchains. It is not something uncommon, as Ethereum originated from Ethereum Classic only. However, these two platforms' current scenarios and prospects are very different. 

Ethereum is a very popular blockchain, and as Ethereum 2.0 is incoming, its popularity has reached new heights. Ethereum Classic, on the other hand, has lost popularity due to various factors. One was the 51% attacks on the network in July and August 2020. It is less likely that investors would like to put their money on Ethereum Classic. 

Also, Ethereum has Layer-2 scaling that allows it to transfer its network load to other blockchains. Polygon is a good example in this regard.  

So, whether you invest in Ethereum or Ethereum Classic, it's best to analyse the current market trends before you hatch your plan. Conducting research from credible sources is also essential. 

Also, understanding the differences between these blockchains will help you make better investment-related decisions.