Ethereum Classic News

Network UpgradeIstanbulECIP-1088

Jun 1, 2020

Phoenix Network Upgrade Completes Istanbul Alignment

Ethereum Classic activated Phoenix at block 10,500,839 on June 1, 2020, achieving full Istanbul EVM equivalence after the Aztlan governance crisis.

Network UpgradeConstantinopleECIP-1056

Jan 12, 2020

Agharta Network Upgrade Adopts Constantinople/Petersburg

Ethereum Classic activated Agharta at block 9,573,000 on January 12, 2020, adding bitwise shifting, CREATE2, and EXTCODEHASH.

Network UpgradeByzantiumECIP-1054

Sep 12, 2019

Atlantis Network Upgrade Brings Byzantium to ETC

Ethereum Classic activated Atlantis at block 8,772,000 on September 12, 2019, closing a two-year EVM gap with 10 Byzantium EIPs.

Network UpgradeMiningECIP-1099+1

Nov 28, 2020

Thanos Network Upgrade Preserves GPU Mining

Ethereum Classic activated Thanos at block 11,700,000 on November 28, 2020, doubling the DAG epoch length to keep 4GB GPUs mining and establishing the Etchash algorithm.

Monetary PolicyEconomicsECIP-1017

Dec 11, 2017

ETC Monetary Policy: Fixed Supply via ECIP-1017

Ethereum Classic implemented ECIP-1017 and ECIP-1039, establishing a fixed monetary policy with 20% block reward reductions every 5 million blocks and a maximum supply of approximately 210.7 million ETC.

Network UpgradeHistoryGas Limit

Sep 7, 2015

Frontier Thawing: Gas Limit Unlocked

At block 200,000 on September 7, 2015, the Frontier Thawing upgrade unlocked the gas limit, enabling practical smart contract deployment for the first time.

Network UpgradeHomesteadHistory

Mar 14, 2016

Homestead Network Upgrade Marks Production Readiness

At block 1,150,000 on March 14, 2016, Homestead moved the network from beta to production with DELEGATECALL, tightened transaction rules, and P2P forward compatibility.

Network UpgradeECIP-1010Replay Protection+1

Jan 13, 2017

Die Hard: ETC's First Independent Network Upgrade

At block 3,000,000 on January 13, 2017, Die Hard established ETC's protocol sovereignty with replay protection (Chain ID 61), difficulty bomb delay, and state trie cleanup.

Network UpgradeECIP-1041Proof of Work+1

May 29, 2018

Difficulty Bomb Permanently Removed from ETC

At block 5,900,000 on May 29, 2018, ECIP-1041 permanently removed the exponential difficulty bomb, affirming ETC's commitment to proof-of-work consensus.

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Network UpgradeOlympiaEIP-1559+1

Jan 15, 2026

Olympia Network Upgrade Announced

The Olympia network upgrade will bring EIP-1559 fee markets, a community treasury funded by the basefee, and Cancun/Fusaka EVM equivalence to Ethereum Classic.

By ETC Community

Monetary PolicyECIP-1017Supply Cap

Mar 1, 2017

ETC Adopts Fixed Monetary Policy with 210M Supply Cap

ECIP-1017 introduces a fixed monetary policy for Ethereum Classic with a hard supply cap of approximately 210.7 million ETC and a 20% emission reduction every 5 million blocks.

Network UpgradeGothamECIP-1017+1

Dec 11, 2017

Gotham Hard Fork: Monetary Policy Activated

At block 5,000,000, Ethereum Classic activates its fixed monetary policy via the Gotham hard fork, reducing block rewards from 5 ETC to 4 ETC.

Oct 3, 2019

Mordor PoW Testnet Launched for ETC Development

Ethereum Classic launches Mordor, a dedicated proof-of-work testnet using the ETChash algorithm, providing developers with an accurate testing environment.

TestnetMordorDevelopment

Monetary PolicyEra 3Block Reward

Mar 17, 2020

Era 3 Block Reward Reduction to 3.2 ETC

At block 10,000,001, Ethereum Classic enters Era 3 of its monetary policy, reducing block rewards from 4 ETC to 3.2 ETC per block.

Monetary PolicyEra 4Block Reward

Apr 25, 2022

Era 4: Block Reward Reduces to 2.56 ETC

At block 15,000,001, Ethereum Classic enters Era 4 of its monetary policy, reducing block rewards from 3.2 ETC to 2.56 ETC per block.

Monetary PolicyEra 5Fifthening+1

May 31, 2024

Era 5 'Fifthening': Block Reward Drops to 2.048 ETC

At block 20,000,001, Ethereum Classic enters its fifth monetary era, reducing block rewards from 2.56 ETC to 2.048 ETC per block.

Network UpgradeMystiqueECIP-1104+1

Feb 12, 2022

Mystique Network Upgrade Successfully Activated

Ethereum Classic activates the Mystique network upgrade at block 14,525,000, implementing selected London EIPs while deliberately omitting EIP-1559.

Network UpgradeSpiralECIP-1109+1

Jul 31, 2024

Spiral Upgrade: Six Months In Review

Six months after activation, the Spiral network upgrade has brought EVM parity with Ethereum's Shanghai execution layer to Ethereum Classic without incident.

Sep 1, 2025

Olympia Network Upgrade: ECIP Review Begins

The Ethereum Classic community began formal review of the Olympia upgrade ECIPs, proposing EIP-1559 fee markets, a non-inflationary treasury, and on-chain governance.

OlympiaECIPEIP-1559+3

GorgorothOlympiaMulti-Client+4

Feb 15, 2026

Gorgoroth Trials: Multi-Client Testing for Olympia

The Gorgoroth Trials testing campaign launched to validate multi-client compatibility between Fukuii, Core-Geth, and Besu ahead of the Olympia network upgrade.

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Security

Security advisories, best practices, and network health

ETC Hashrate Surges Following Ethereum Merge

Ethereum Classic experiences massive hashrate increase as GPU miners migrate from Ethereum following the proof-of-stake transition.

HashrateMiningSecurity

By ETC Community

Oct 10, 2020

MESS: Modified Exponential Subjective Scoring Implemented

Ethereum Classic implemented ECBP-1100 (MESS) in October 2020 to defend against 51% attacks. MESS was later deprecated after hashrate grew substantially post-Merge.

SecurityECBP-1100Network

SecurityGuideBest Practices

Mar 15, 2023

ETC Security Best Practices Guide

Essential security guidance for Ethereum Classic users covering wallet safety, transaction verification, and scam awareness.

Network UpgradeECIP-1015DoS+1

Oct 24, 2016

Gas Reprice: Emergency Response to DoS Attacks

At block 2,500,000 on October 24, 2016, the Gas Reprice upgrade (EIP-150) was activated as an emergency response to the Shanghai DoS attacks that had been crippling the network.

Security51% AttackECBP-1100+1

Aug 6, 2020

ETC Responds to 51% Attacks with Security Upgrades

In August 2020, Ethereum Classic experienced three chain reorganization attacks. The network responded with ECBP-1100 (MESS), increased confirmations, and ultimately benefited from post-Merge hashrate growth.

Replay AttackEIP-155Chain ID+1

Jan 31, 2018

Replay Attacks: What They Are and How ETC Handles Them

After the 2016 DAO fork created two chains with shared history, replay attacks became a real concern. How ETC and ETH addressed the problem.

DoS AttackGas PricingNetwork Security

Jun 21, 2018

Understanding DoS Attacks on Blockchain Networks

How denial-of-service attacks target blockchain networks, the 2016 attacks on Ethereum/ETC, and the protocol-level defenses that were implemented.

ConfirmationsSecurityReorgs+1

Feb 7, 2019

Block Confirmations and Transaction Security

Why confirmations matter on proof-of-work chains, how many are needed for different transaction sizes, and the economics of chain reorganizations.

51% AttackMESSECBP-1100+1

Nov 10, 2020

Chain Reorganization Mitigation on ETC

Following 51% attacks in 2020, Ethereum Classic implemented MESS (ECBP-1100) to penalize deep chain reorganizations — and later deprecated it as hashrate grew.

PhishingScamsSecurity Advisory+1

Jan 10, 2023

Security Advisory: Fraudulent dApp Sites Targeting ETC Users

The ETC community issued warnings about fraudulent websites impersonating legitimate dApps to steal user funds through phishing and malicious smart contracts.

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Ecosystem

DeFi, dApps, and project announcements

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ETC CooperativeOrganizationCommunity

Sep 15, 2017

ETC Cooperative Established

The ETC Cooperative is formed as a nonprofit organization to support the development and growth of Ethereum Classic.

IOHKDevelopmentResearch+1

Mar 1, 2017

IOHK Grothendieck Team Contributes to ETC Development

IOHK established the Grothendieck team to contribute to Ethereum Classic, producing the Mantis client and treasury research including ECIP-1051 and ECIP-1098.

Core-GethClientInfrastructure

Apr 1, 2019

Core-Geth: The Reference ETC Client

Core-Geth became the primary Ethereum Classic client, forked from go-ethereum with multi-chain support for ETC, ETH, and testnets.

BesuHyperledgerClient Diversity+1

Jun 15, 2020

Hyperledger Besu Adds Ethereum Classic Support

The enterprise-grade Ethereum client Hyperledger Besu integrated native Ethereum Classic support, expanding multi-client diversity for the network.

EVMEcosystemMulti-Chain+2

Jul 20, 2016

The EVM Ecosystem: From One Chain to Many

How the Ethereum Virtual Machine grew from a single blockchain into a multi-chain standard, and Ethereum Classic's role as the original EVM chain.

Mar 13, 2024

Ethereum Shanghai and Dencun: What ETC Evaluates

A review of Ethereum's Shanghai and Dencun upgrades and which EVM improvements ETC evaluates for potential adoption.

ShanghaiDencunEIP-4844+3

Cross-ChainBridgesInteroperability+2

Jun 1, 2023

Cross-Chain Bridges and EVM Interoperability with ETC

An overview of cross-chain bridge infrastructure connecting Ethereum Classic to the broader EVM ecosystem, and the shared tooling that enables developer portability.

L1EVM LandscapeComparison+4

Jan 15, 2024

The L1 EVM Landscape: Where Ethereum Classic Fits

A factual survey of the Layer 1 EVM ecosystem — from Ethereum PoS to Avalanche, BSC, and rollups — and ETC's unique position as the PoW original.

PhilosophyDeclarationPrinciples

Mar 15, 2025

Ethereum Pectra Upgrade: Implications for ETC

Ethereum's Pectra upgrade introduced EOF and EIP-7702 account abstraction. Here's what ETC evaluates for potential future adoption.

PectraEOFEIP-7702+3

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Community

Events, governance, and community initiatives

Ethereum Frontier Launch: The Beginning

On July 30, 2015, the Ethereum network goes live with the Frontier release, marking the birth of the blockchain that would become Ethereum Classic.

The DAO Fork and the Birth of Ethereum Classic

On July 20, 2016, Ethereum forked at block 1,920,000 to reverse The DAO exploit. Those who rejected the rollback continued the original chain as Ethereum Classic.

The Ethereum Classic Declaration of Independence

The ETC community publishes its Declaration of Independence, articulating the principles and values that define Ethereum Classic.

HistoryPhilosophyFounding Documents

Jul 11, 2016

The Crypto-Decentralist Manifesto

Arvicco publishes the Crypto-Decentralist Manifesto, articulating the philosophical principles that define the Ethereum Classic community.

PhilosophyHistoryCode Is Law

Sep 15, 2016

Code Is Law and the Genesis of Ethereum Classic

The principle that smart contracts should execute exactly as written — without external intervention — becomes the defining ethos of Ethereum Classic.

HistoryVitalik ButerinEndorsement

Jul 23, 2016

Vitalik Buterin Endorses Ethereum Classic

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly states that Ethereum Classic has a right to exist and is a legitimate project.

MiningThe MergeHashrate+1

Sep 15, 2022

ETC Welcomes Ethereum Miners After PoS Merge

Following Ethereum's transition to proof-of-stake, Ethereum Classic becomes the primary destination for displaced GPU miners seeking proof-of-work opportunities.

Proof of WorkCensorship ResistanceThe Merge+1

Oct 15, 2022

Proof of Work and Censorship Resistance: Why ETC Stays PoW

After Ethereum transitioned to Proof of Stake in September 2022, Ethereum Classic reaffirmed its commitment to Proof of Work as the foundation of censorship resistance.