ETC Emission Schedule
ECIP-1017 · 20% block reward reduction every 5,000,000 blocks
Era … → Era … Fifthing
Block … · ECIP-1017
Era History
| 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 | 3.2000000000000006 ETC | 16.00M ETC | 133.01M ETC |
Era 4Complete Fourth Fifthing | 15,000,001–20,000,000 | Oct 2024 | 2.5600000000000005 ETC | 12.80M ETC | 145.81M ETC |
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 (ETH fork) | 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) |
Block height: Blockscout · Emission schedule: ECIP-1017 · Future era dates estimated at 13s avg block time · All supply figures exclude uncle rewards.