HeidiTravels is back! (AND TRAVELING!)
Today I wanted to take a look into Ethereum Classic and how this blockchain is in many ways, a symbol for upholding the ideologies that were at the core for the very development of crypto in the first place.
Ethereum Classic
- Ranked 5th on coinmarketcap.com
- Price- $19.82 per coin
- Current circulating supply- 93 million coins
- 24 hour volume- $740 million
- Market cap- $1 billion.
If you didn’t already know by now, Ethereum Classic exists because a group of people believed strongly in upholding the values of an immutable blockchain, one that cannot be manipulated.
This difference in ideals was brought to light thanks to what happened when one hacker took advantage of a loophole in the code for the DAO.
I found a good article on blockgeeks.com that explains the back story of the DAO and the emergence of Ethereum Classic. This article also further explains soft forks and hard forks, so for those of you who need a bit more clarification on that topic be sure to check out the link for this article down below.
The DAO was a complex smart contract that would pretty much enable anyone to be a venture capitalist for emerging projects that were developed on the platform. If you wanted to help determine funding for a particular project you would have to purchase DAO tokens and use them to cast your vote.
The crowdfunding for the DAO raised 150million dollars worth of ether.
Only three weeks after they raised these funds, a hacker began draining what would be a total of $50million.
Here is where the panic and controversy begins. The Ethereum Foundation had a decision to make. After a failed attempt for implementing a soft fork, which was found to have vital flaws that would open the door for denial of service attacks, they were stuck with deciding to initiate a hard fork, or essentially let the hacker get away with it.
#So they decided to hard fork.
Hard forks can be scary because they can open the door for a competing cryptocurrency if a group of developers and miners decide to take on the work of maintaining the original blockchain.
Which is exactly what happened in this case.
Those who decided to continue the original Ethereum blockchain were individuals who believed strongly in an immutable blockchain, one where they wouldn’t just rewind it if something like a major hack occurred.
Here are the beginning lines to Ethereum Classic's Declaration of Independence:
“Let it be known to the entire world that on July 20th, 2016, at block 1,920,000, we as a community of sovereign individuals stood united by a common vision to continue the original Ethereum blockchain that is truly free from censorship, fraud or third party interference. In realizing that the blockchain represents absolute truth, we stand by it, supporting its immutability and its future. We do not make this declaration lightly, nor without forethought to the consequences of our actions. ”
As it stands right now, most of the big investors and lead developers decided to go with the Ethereum Foundation, leaving the team behind Ethereum Classic with a bit of an uphill battle establishing legitimacy. This is quite ironic since many will argue that Ethereum Classic stood by the original Ethereum morality that “Code is Law”
As I said in the beginning of this video, I’m in Bali and I’ll be filming in another exotic locations. Stay tuned for my upcoming videos these next few months for more insights into the crypto world that will be filmed from all over the globe!
Additional Reading/Sources:
ETC Website
ETC Declaration of Independence
History of ETC in detail
ETC Monetary Policy
Blockgeeks Article Comparing ETC & ETH/Explains Soft & Hard Forks
DoS (Denial of Service) Attack Explained