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Investors FAQ
Market information, monetary policy, and investment considerations.
ETC trades on most major cryptocurrency exchanges including Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, OKX, KuCoin, Gate.io, and Bybit. For decentralized trading directly on the ETC network, ETCswap V2 and V3 offer non-custodial swaps. Grayscale offers the Ethereum Classic Trust (ETCG) for investors who prefer traditional brokerage access.
ECIP-1017, adopted in March 2017, established a Bitcoin-like fixed monetary policy. Block rewards reduce by 20% every 5 million blocks (~2.5 years). The emission schedule produces a hard cap of approximately 210.7 million ETC. Current era (Era 5, starting block 20,000,001) rewards miners 2.048 ETC per block. This fixed, predictable supply schedule cannot be altered by governance.
Ethereum Classic is the original Ethereum blockchain — a Proof of Work smart contract platform with a fixed supply cap, an immutable transaction history, and permissionless access. It combines Bitcoin's monetary principles (fixed supply, PoW security) with Ethereum's programmability (EVM, smart contracts). It is the largest Proof of Work EVM chain.
ETC occupies a unique intersection: it has the programmability of Ethereum (full EVM compatibility) with the monetary properties of Bitcoin (fixed supply, Proof of Work). Unlike Ethereum, ETC never performed an irregular state change — the ledger is immutable. Unlike Bitcoin, ETC supports smart contracts. No other major cryptocurrency combines all three properties: PoW security, EVM programmability, and ledger immutability.
EthereumClassic.com does not provide investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk including potential total loss. ETC's fixed monetary policy, Proof of Work security model, and EVM compatibility are objective protocol properties — their relevance to investment decisions is for each individual to assess. Always do your own research and consult a financial advisor.
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