Ethereum Classic (ETC) has successfully completed its scheduled upgrade, integrating Ethereum's (ETH) Istanbul features into the ETC blockchain. This milestone ensures full compatibility between the two protocols.
The Phoenix Hard Fork: Key Details
- Completion Date: May 31
- Block Height: 10,500,839 (8:00 PM EST)
- Purpose: To align ETC with ETH's Istanbul hard fork functionalities
This marks the third upgrade in a series designed to enhance ETC's competitiveness. Previous forks include:
- Agharta (December 2019): Brought Constantinople features to ETC.
- Atlantis (September 2019): Introduced foundational upgrades.
Afri Schoedon, an ETH developer, noted that the compatibility achieves "protocol parity" between the two networks.
Minor Challenges Post-Upgrade
- A small fraction of miners remained on the old chain.
- Hyperledger Besu clients experienced synchronization delays (though this primarily affects enterprise environments).
What Lies Ahead for ETC?
ETC, often regarded as the "original" ETH due to its stance against rolling back The DAO hack, still struggles to attract major decentralized application (DApp) developers. Its DApp ecosystem remains modest compared to competitors.
Recent Developments
ETC Token Adoption:
- Added as a payment option on Gitcoin for developer rewards.
- Accepted as collateral in Fantom-based decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms (similar to ETH in MakerDAO).
- Protocol Parity: Enables ETH developers to port applications directly to ETC.
👉 Explore ETC's latest use cases
Competitive Landscape
While ETC gains traction, other ETH-compatible platforms (e.g., Binance Smart Chain) pose stiff competition. The critical question: Can ETC build a robust developer community?
FAQ
Q: Why did ETC fork from ETH?
A: ETC rejected reversing The DAO hack transactions, preserving immutability—a core blockchain principle.
Q: How does Phoenix improve ETC?
A: It ensures feature parity with ETH, simplifying cross-chain DApp migration.
Q: Is ETC a good investment now?
A: While adoption grows, investors should assess its long-term ecosystem viability.
Q: What’s next for ETC development?
A: Focus shifts to scaling solutions and incentivizing developers.
👉 Learn more about blockchain upgrades