What is Ethereum Classic?
Ethereum Classic (ETC) is an open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform featuring smart contract (scripting) functionality.
It provides a decentralized Turing-complete virtual machine, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which can execute scripts using an international network of public nodes. Ethereum Classic is a continuation of the original Ethereum blockchain - the classic version preserving untampered history; free from external interference and subjective tampering of transactions. Ethereum Classic was created as a result of a hard fork in the Ethereum network in 2016.
The hard fork was initiated due to a security breach that resulted in millions of dollars worth of Ether being stolen from The DAO, an autonomous organization built on top of the Ethereum network. After the hard fork, two separate blockchains were created: Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). The main difference between ETH and ETC is that ETH has implemented a number of changes to its protocol since the hard fork, while ETC has remained largely unchanged since then.
This means that ETC is more similar to the original version of Ethereum before the hard fork occurred. As such, it has become popular among those who believe in keeping true to the original vision for Ethereum as outlined by its creator Vitalik Buterin. In terms of features, both ETH and ETC offer similar functionality such as smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).
However, due to its lack of updates since 2016, ETC does not have access to some newer features such as sharding or proof-of-stake consensus algorithms which are available on ETH. Additionally, ETC also has lower liquidity than ETH due to its smaller market capitalization. Overall, Ethereum Classic is an open source blockchain platform with smart contract functionality that seeks to remain true to the original vision for Ethereum as outlined by its creator Vitalik Buterin before the hard fork occurred in 2016.
It offers similar features as ETH but lacks access to some newer features due to its lack of updates since then.
