Ethereum Classic (ETC): The Forgotten Twin Brother Of Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum Classic (ETC) came into existence after the infamous Ethereum hardfork when disagreements over reimbursements of funds in the aftermath of the DAO hack resulted in two coins. Proponents of Ethereum Classic argued that code is law so they kept to the old chain without any alteration. Those in favor of changing the code or in other words, printing more Ethereum to pay those affected by the DAO founded Ethereum (ETH) under the leadership of Vitalik Buterin. This was a tough decision no doubt but it gave birth to two schools of thought on the Ethereum Blockchain. Most of the developers and backers put their weight behind Ethereum and hence the original project (Ethereum Classic) was left in shambles. Some early developers under the leadership of Charles Hoskinson struggled hard just to keep the project alive out of principle for a long time. Later on, media attention and support from IOHK and Barry Silbert brought the project to limelight. However, it is important to note that Ethereum Classic has gained far less traction than it deserves. Ethereum Classic ranked as 4th among cryptocurrency projects in terms of efforts put into the project and milestones achieved in 2017 according to blockchain veterans. Weiss Ratings recently upgraded its rating of Ethereum Classic (ETC) to B. It should be noted that Bitcoin received a C+ and Ripple received a C. Ethereum also received a B. However, things may change soon as Ethereum problems grow by the day. There is already growing concern about increasing centralization and interference on ETH. Furthermore, Ethereum has plenty of scaling issues coupled with legal trouble with ICOs in the pipeline. Mining profitability is another big concern. All of these indicators point to a growing interest in Ethereum’s kid brother, Ethereum Classic among developers and miners. If any trouble does arise, Ethereum Classic will be the first ship they jump on. The reasons are self explanatory. Ethereum Classic (ETC) believes in immutability and code is law, principles which most Ethereum backers are starting to realize the importance of. Besides, what makes Ethereum Classic more attractive is its use as a store of value due to its deflationary economic model akin to Bitcoin. In addition to that, it is a lot more profitable to mine Ethereum Classic than Ethereum right now and most miners are already preparing to shift to Ethereum Classic. ETC is currently trading at less than $15. It fell all the way from its previous high of $48. This coin was undervalued even before the market correction. At this price, it is a rip off considering ETC is the original version of Ethereum with a fixed coin supply unlike ETH. Dapps can be built on ETC same as ETH which points to the fact that ETH essentially has no significant technological edge over ETC. On the very contrary, ETC seems to have a better solution to scaling and ICOs than ETH which vindicates the point that the market cap difference between the two coins is mostly based on hype rather than technological edge and it is only a matter of time before ETC catches up to fill the 28x marketcap difference between ETH and ETC (compared to 11x difference between BTC and BCH).