Ethereum Classic
Block Reward Reduction
Emission Fifthing: Era 5 → Era 6
Fifthing Era … → Era …
Current Block: …
Block … · ECIP-1017
Expected date estimated at 13s avg block time
All supply figures exclude uncle rewards.
Data source: Blockscout
Current Block
24,564,708
live from Blockscout
Current Era
Era 5
of infinite eras
Block Reward
2.048 ETC
→ 1.6384 ETC next era
Expected Date
July 2026
at 13s avg block time
Days in Era
686d
since last fifthing
Annual Inflation
3.2%
2.56% next era
ETC Total Supply by Era
| Era | Block Range | Date | Block Reward | Era Emission | Total Supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Era 1Complete First Fifthing | 1–5,000,000 | Dec 2017 | 5 ETC | 25.00M ETC | 97.01M ETC |
Era 2Complete Second Fifthing | 5,000,001–10,000,000 | Mar 2020 | 4 ETC | 20.00M ETC | 117.01M ETC |
Era 3Complete Third Fifthing | 10,000,001–15,000,000 | Apr 2022 | 3.2 ETC | 16.00M ETC | 133.01M ETC |
Era 4Complete Fourth Fifthing | 15,000,001–20,000,000 | Oct 2024 | 2.56 ETC | 12.80M ETC | 145.81M ETC |
What is a Fifthing?
Under ECIP-1017, Ethereum Classic reduces its block reward by 20% every 5,000,000 blocks. This event is called a fifthing. It creates a predictable, verifiable emission curve that makes ETC progressively more scarce over time without any human intervention.
Each era lasts approximately 2 years at 13s average block time. The 20% reduction compounds across eras: Era 1 started at 5 ETC per block, and each era is exactly 80% of the previous. The total ETC supply asymptotically approaches ~210.7M ETC, a fixed, knowable ceiling.
Unlike Bitcoin's 50% halving, ETC's gentler 20% reduction extends miner viability longer while still enforcing scarcity. The emission schedule is encoded directly in the protocol. It is immutable and automatic.
What is ECIP-1017?
ECIP-1017 is the Ethereum Classic Improvement Proposal that defines the monetary policy for ETC. Adopted in 2017, it establishes a predictable, deflationary emission schedule: every 5,000,000 blocks (approximately 2–2.5 years), the block reward is reduced by 20%. This creates a known supply ceiling and eliminates arbitrary monetary policy.
Fixed Era Length
Each era spans exactly 5,000,000 blocks. At an average of 13 seconds per block, an era lasts roughly 2–2.5 years.
Geometric Reduction
At each era boundary (the "fifthing"), the block reward is multiplied by 0.8, a 20% reduction. Starting from 5 ETC, rewards halve approximately every 3 eras.
Converging Supply
The geometric series converges. Including the 72M ETC genesis supply, total ETC supply approaches ~199–210M. No arbitrary inflation is ever possible.
ETC Fifthing vs. BTC Halving
| Metric | ETC (ECIP-1017) | BTC (Satoshi Policy) |
|---|---|---|
| Reward reduction | 20% (×0.8) | 50% (×0.5) |
| Era / cycle length | 5,000,000 blocks (~2–2.5 yrs) | 210,000 blocks (~4 yrs) |
| Starting reward | 5 ETC (Era 1) | 50 BTC (Cycle 1) |
| Genesis / pre-mine | 72,009,990 ETC (inherited) | None |
| Max supply (est.) | ~199–210M ETC | 21,000,000 BTC |
| Mechanism | Geometric decay at era boundary | Integer halving at cycle boundary |
| Event name | Fifthing (20% = 1/5th reduction) | Halving (50% = 1/2 reduction) |
A note on the ETC genesis supply
The 72,009,990 ETC genesis balance is the original Ethereum supply from the Ethereum 2014 ICO. ETC is the original chain. In 2016 the Ethereum Foundation forked away and applied the ETH name and ticker to the new chain. Leaked internal chat logs confirm that Foundation insiders and associates coordinated a campaign to sell ETC and buy ETH, deliberately depressing the original chain's price while elevating the new one. The Foundation's 16.67% ICO allocation was dumped into the open market at pennies. There is no premine on ETC; much of that allocation was distributed to open-market buyers via legacy centralized exchanges. Full story →