It is difficult to find a person today who would not be familiar with Bitcoin and its amazing growth over the past decade. Yet, one can certainly tell a layperson from a crypto enthusiast by asking them about the reason why there are two types of Ether on the market. Ethereum Classic is a hard fork of the original network, which happened in 2016 and marked a historic moment for the Ethereum community.
Today, this cryptocurrency still remains a successful project with a market capitalization of more than ten billion dollars (As of April 2021). Ethereum Classic’s token ETC has a large following. Businesses can start accepting Ethereum Classic and provide the coin’s fans with a chance to spend their tokens.
Key Points
- Ethereum Classic is a hard fork of the Ethereum network that was born out of a division in the Ethereum community
- ETC has a maximum supply of tokens and uses a Proof-of-Work protocol
- By accepting Ethereum Classic businesses will benefit from fast and borderless transactions and a large fanbase of the currency
History of Ethereum Classic
Creation
Ethereum Classic is the first version of the blockchain, which today is known as Ethereum. The original network emerged in 2015. After its launch, the blockchain experienced instant success thanks to its innovative features. The network allowed users to build decentralized applications which would respond to the particular needs of their creators.
Additionally, it introduced a new type of tokens, non-fungibles ones (NFTs), which constitute unique digital assets tied to certain objects such as artworks. Most importantly, the network provided a platform for others to create their tokens and host initial coin offerings.
Fork
The Ethereum blockchain had been rapidly developing until it encountered the most challenging situation in its history. In 2016, the DAO, one of the most noteworthy projects of the Ethereum network, managed to raise more than one hundred million dollars in ETH. Yet, during a voting process, the DAO was hacked, and millions of funds were stolen from users. This led to a situation when the Ethereum community decided to add changes to the network’s code. The share of the investors that did not agree with this move opted for a hard fork which ultimately brought into life Ethereum Classic.
Differences between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic
Scarcity
Apart from different perspectives on the DAO hack and ticker symbols, there are other features which the two blockchains do not have in common. Scarcity is one of the key factors investors consider when assessing a coin as a potential investment opportunity. The two types of Ether espoused their own approaches to the maximum supply of coins. Ethereum does not have a limit when it comes to the number of tokens that the network can issue. On the other hand, Ethereum Classic has a hard cap which is slightly above two hundred million tokens
Proof-of-Work Protocol
The consensus protocol is an essential element of blockchain, and the two coins once again promote different ways of approaching it. The developers of Ethereum Classic vowed to keep and continue using the original Proof-of-Work protocol, which implies utilizing the help of miners to issue new coins. In contrast, Ethereum creators promised to the community to make a departure from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake in the near future. As of 2021, the Ethereum foundation was actively testing Ethereum 2.0, a blockchain based on the Proof-of-Stake protocol, which managed to attract thousands of validators. The transition towards the new protocol will make the network more scalable.
Advantages of Accepting Ethereum Classic
No Banks
Ethereum Classic, just like any cryptocurrency, is decentralized and completely peer-to-peer. This means that when your clients send you ETC the transaction does not require the approval of any financial institution. Instead, the funds from the customer’s address pass onto yours. This also entails the lack of any additional payments which banks often charge their clients. All one has to pay is a small transaction fee. Thus, every business can potentially bring down their prices by switching to Ethereum Classic and other tokens and save on the expenses which are inherent to bank services.
Community
When choosing a new coin to accept, businesses must always do research on the size of the community of the potential candidate. Ethereum Classic is a crypto that has been around virtually for ages in the crypto years and essentially has accumulated an extensive fanbase. ETC holders are among the most loyal crypto enthusiasts, and they get more than excited every time they see a new company start accepting their favorite coin. Ethereum Classic has a market capitalization of several billion dollars. This means that there are thousands of people who hold this currency and will be happy to spend it on products and services.
Fast Transactions
As it was mentioned earlier, Ethereum Classic is a peer-to-peer network. As a result, banks do not control transactions which occur on the blockchain. In a usual setting, when a client pays you in fiat, the sum may travel for several days, especially if you have a different bank. With Ethereum Classic, these payments are near-instant and truly borderless. There is no need to wait until clearing is complete. Your customer may live on the other side of the planet and still purchase your products or services in a short period of time.
No Chargebacks
Another advantage of Ethereum Classic over traditional financial institutions is the absence of chargebacks. On blockchains, every transaction is forever recorded in the ledger, and no one can change it. This eradicates the possibility of chargeback fraud when a scammer may contact their bank and request a refund circumventing the original seller. Blockchain protects businesses from such malicious activity.
NOWPayments accepts Ethereum Classic
If you are wishing to try accepting ETC at your businesses, NOWPayments is here to assist you. The service offers a variety of solutions relevant to different types of organizations. Companies can set up a crypto invoice that will contain all the details about payment. WordPress and Shopify merchants can automate their crypto payments by installing a NOWPayments plugin. While bloggers and charities can deploy a crypto donations widget on their website. T
hose who want to accept crypto but would like to receive their payment in fiat can use the fiat conversion feature. Businesses that have decided to make a complete transition to digital assets in their operations can make use of the mass payments and instantly send crypto to numerous suppliers and employees. With NOWPayments, your crypto opportunities are truly unlimited.
Conclusion
Ethereum Classic emerged in 2016 as a hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain due to a conflict in the Ethereum community over the DAO platform hack. Five years later, Ethereum Classic is still a solid project with an impressive fanbase and a giant market capitalization of several billion dollars. Ethereum Classic is a currency which is perfect for businesses that want to try accepting crypto, and NOWPayments is the ultimate destination for deploying the best ETC payment gateways.