Ethereum Classic (ETC) — CoinMarketCap (2026)
Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum-classic/
Raw file: raw/articles/ethereum-classicpriceetc50.md
What Is Ethereum Classic?
Ethereum Classic (ticker: ETC) is the original Ethereum blockchain that refused to execute the 2016 DAO hack hard fork. While the majority Ethereum community reversed the hack — creating modern ETH — a minority upheld the principle that code is law: blockchains must be immutable regardless of outcomes. That minority chain became Ethereum Classic.
ETC remains fully operational with its own mining community and ecosystem, and continues to use proof-of-work (PoW) consensus even after Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake in September 2022.
The DAO Hack and the Fork (2016)
In June 2016, an attacker exploited a reentrancy vulnerability in The DAO’s smart contract code, draining approximately 3.6 million ETH (~$60 million). The Ethereum community was split on the response:
| Position | Fork Decision | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Majority (pragmatist) | Hard fork to reverse the hack | Became Ethereum (ETH) |
| Minority (immutabilist) | Reject the fork; original chain continues | Became Ethereum Classic (ETC) |
The philosophical divide: ETH prioritised community consensus and practical recovery; ETC prioritised immutability — the principle that no entity, however well-intentioned, should alter a blockchain’s transaction history.
Market Data (as of 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | ~$8.49 USD |
| CMC Rank | ~#50 |
| Market Cap | ~$1.25 billion |
| Circulating Supply | ~147 million ETC |
| Max Supply | 210.7 million ETC (fixed cap, like Bitcoin) |
| All-Time High | $176.16 (May 2021) |
| Consensus | Proof-of-Work (Etchash algorithm) |
Technical Differences from Ethereum (ETH)
| Feature | Ethereum (ETH) | Ethereum Classic (ETC) |
|---|---|---|
| Consensus | Proof-of-Stake (since 2022) | Proof-of-Work (Etchash) |
| Max supply | No hard cap | 210.7 million ETC |
| DeFi ecosystem | Massive (~$60B+ TVL) | Minimal |
| Developer activity | Very high | Low to moderate |
| Smart contracts | Full EVM support | Full EVM support |
”Code Is Law” Philosophy
ETC positions itself on four principles:
- Immutable — No transaction can be reversed by any authority
- Censorship-resistant — No entity can roll back or block transactions
- Sound money — Fixed maximum supply creates Bitcoin-like scarcity
- Decentralised — No foundation controls forks; miner community governs
Key Protocol Upgrades
ETC has periodically upgraded to maintain Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility while preserving PoW:
- Atlantis (2019) — Ethereum Byzantium compatibility
- Phoenix (2020) — Ethereum Istanbul compatibility
- Magneto (2021) — Gas efficiency improvements
- Spiral (2023) — Partial EIP-1559 compatibility (base fee mechanism)
Concepts Mentioned
- ethereum-classic — the immutabilist fork of Ethereum preserving the pre-DAO-hack chain
- dao-hack — 2016 reentrancy exploit that triggered the ETH/ETC split
- proof-of-work — ETC’s retained consensus mechanism; GPU-mineable (Etchash)
- ethereum — the forked majority chain that reversed the DAO hack
Related sources: wikipedia-2026-ethereum | grokipedia-2026-ethereum-history | ethereumorg-2026-what-is-ethereum