Which is better: Ethereum or Ethereum Classic?

in LeoFinance3 years ago (edited)

Banner for which is better: Ethereum or Ethereum Classic




Choosing Ethereum or Ethereum Classic can be confusing for crypto noobs. Use this guide to make sure you're buying the right Ethereum.

When talking about Ethereum with friends, I've found myself having to just double-check that we're both talking about the same market.

You see Ethereum (ETH), is not the same as Ethereum Classic (ETC) and with both ripping higher for different reasons, it can certainly be confusing.

When it comes to answering which is better between Ethereum or Ethereum Classic, there are a few key points that you need to understand.

This guide goes over the background behind Ethereum's chain splitting hard fork, examines the advantages of each and then offers a final verdict.

Spoiler alert: Ethereum is better than Ethereum Classic

Ethereum logo

Why did Ethereum hard fork?

First things first, we have to talk about why Ethereum hard forked in the first place.

Back in July of 2016, Ethereum underwent a hard fork, splitting into the two blockchains we see today.

These of course being Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

Confusingly, while Ethereum (ETH) is considered the main chain… it's actually the fork.

But due to its backing from the Ethereum Foundation and general community consensus, it retained the original name while the old chain was rebranded to Ethereum Classic (ETC).

The fork came after hackers exploited flaws in the code of Ethereum’s DAO smart contract.

After much community debate about what to do, it was decided by the Ethereum Foundation that they would hard fork the Ethereum blockchain in order to wind back any malicious transactions, patch the exploit and essentially allow the stolen funds to be recovered.

While the Ethereum hard fork was supported by the Ethereum Foundation and a majority of the community, not everyone agreed.

In crypto, there’s an argument to be made that “code is law”, meaning what happens has been allowed to happen by the code and therefore is correct.

They view any changes as against this law and thus have continued to work on the Ethereum Classic blockchain as is.

With the difference between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic now explained, let’s take a look at the merits of buying them both.

Why buy Ethereum?

We've actually been talking about buying Ethereum on the blog, for quite a while.

Just last week for example, I published a crypto market analysis post saying just that when Ethereum ripped through the $3000 psychological resistance zone.

With Ethereum still on an absolute tear, you’ll see on the updated daily chart below, that price has already ripped through the $4000 psychological resistance zone too.

ETH/USD Daily:
ETH/USD Daily

Wild moves, right?

But there are a number of reasons to still buy Ethereum, mostly revolving around the chain’s utility when it comes to smart contracts.

If you look at the numbers, Ethereum is the developers’ blockchain of choice when it comes to developing dApps.

For example, the latest boom in the red hot defi space, has been led by platforms built on Ethereum.

Ethereum’s most recent rise has been as much about people buying ETH to actually use decentralised applications built on the network as it has been about pure speculation.

If people are actually using your blockchain, then they’re going to be buying the chain’s native currency in order to interact and that’s certainly driving the price.

The fact that even with Ethereum’s insanely high fees, it’s pretty telling that the blockchain is still being used.

With the planned Ethereum 2.0 upgrades designed at fixing scaling and cost issues for users, you have a number of clear reasons to buy Ethereum

Why buy Ethereum Classic?

The rise we’ve seen in Ethereum Classic on the other hand, has been driven by an entirely different beast.

While the ETH has been bought to use dApps on the blockchain, we can’t say the same for ETC.

How do we know that?

Well, there is literally no dApps of note currently running on, let alone being developed on the Ethereum Classic blockchain.

This pump has been purely thanks to speculators riding the overall wave of momentum we’re once again seeing in cryptocurrency markets.

But if nobody is actually using the Ethereum Classic blockchain, then where is all this demand coming from?

Well, namely its coming from the retail stock investment app, Robin Hood.

I’d go as far as saying that we’re now seeing retail traders buying Ethereum Classic as an alternative to DOGE, after coming to the conclusion that Dogecoin has possibly gone as high as it will go.

It might seem crazy, but speculation is a part of financial markets whether you like it or not.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy Ethereum Classic, because in the short term it’s pumping like crazy.

But with a lack of dApps and no long term value in the blockchain, I just wouldn’t want to be the one left holding a bag of ETC after the retail crowd inevitably gets dumped on.

Just something for you to consider.

Ethereum is better than Ethereum Classic

The verdict is in and the decision is unanimous: Ethereum is better than Ethereum Classic.

Due to Ethereum Classic’s extremely low hashrate (combined computing power of the miners that secure the network), they've actually been hacked three more times in 2021 alone.

As a reference point, due to Dogecoin’s unlimited supply, its network has a hashrate 10x higher than Ethereum Classic.

(Don’t let anyone tell you that Dogecoin doesn’t have value!)

So as you can see, not only is development on Ethereum Classic non-existent, but the network itself is also extremely insecure.

Doesn’t sound like it has much going for it, right?

Well…

You’re going to think I’m crazy saying this, but retail demand for Ethereum Classic could actually see it outperform the more expensive Ethereum in the short-term.

Just make sure you know which Ethereum you’re buying and why you’re making that decision.

If you still have more questions, check out our beginner's guide to Ethereum.

Best of probabilities to you.




Direct from the desk of Dane Williams.
This blog is exclusive to leofinance.io

Why not leave a comment and share your thoughts on which is better, Ethereum or Ethereum Classic, in the comments section below? All comments that add something to the discussion will be upvoted.

This Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic blog is exclusive to leofinance.io.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Sort:  

just like what i heard about the fork on the ethereum to be ethereum and ethereum classic.
it would be very nice really to have some ETC before the crazy pump happens, but with this price now would you still buy it? knowing the insecurity of the chain, it would be very risky tough. you had a bag, which the precious value has been stolen because the ziplock is not secure enough.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Well, who is to say that the crazy Ethereum Classic pump hasn't even started?

I mean we were saying that the Dogecoin pump had finished when it got to 1 cent... then at 5 cents... then at 10 cents...

Look at Dogecoin now haha!

The bottom line is that buying Ethereum Classic because you think price is going to pump, is risky no matter what price you bought it at.

I'm certainly not joining the train, but I'm sure a ton of other people still will.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Inside sources tell me that there may have been some pumping of ETC from the robinhood crowd! Un-educated speculative purchasing!

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

And there's nothing wrong with that.

The whole point of cryptocurrencies is that anyone and everyone can trade.

You don't have to be a professional or amongst the financial elite.

Just a mug in your undies buying Ethereum Classic because all its done all week is gone up and it's probably going to continue.

:)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

I didn't even bother looking into the background of ETC but it sure does seem like its pure speculation. No development so the only use is the transfer fees and even then, you have no idea when the miners will decide to leave the ETC network once in for all.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Just think of ETC as trading a binary option.

It is a completely artificial product that does nothing and while you can make money buying it, the payouts are nowhere worth the risk.

Buying Ethereum is the better and much safer choice here.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Which one is the easiest to transfer on the blockchain in terms of gas fees? Or do they both cost roughly the same amount.

For larger investors (in the $000's per transaction) the fees probably don't matter, but for small investors gas fees are a big turn-off. To be honest, that's why I've stayed away from using various altcoins on the ETH / ERC20 network where you can't then transfer them out to an exchange to trade/swap.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Well, Ethereum Classic is faster and cheaper.

But remember, it's still the same technology as Ethereum.

It's literally the same chain.

The only reason its cheaper is because it doesn't have the network congestion that Ethereum has.

You know...

Because nothing runs on the chain and nobody uses what's there.

If you want a faster, cheaper alternative to Etheruem then Ethereum Classic isn't what you're after.

Maybe try hive.io?

;)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

As is the case with Hive and Steem, a quick preview is that hive is much better than steemit, as it has more development.

I personally would not buy EtC for ninuga reason, before reading this I was already suspicious of this coin by certain news that emerged and also is like the BCH that has many hands involved and is not at all safe.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

I like the Hive/Steem analogy.

Except are you sure Hive is the Ethereum and not actually Ethereum Classic?

I mean yes, Steem is the dead chain with zero development going on, just being used for a few whales to milk the rewards pool (compatible to ETC).

But the price of STEEM is also worth twice as much as HIVE on the market haha.

Who do we compare Hive to again?

;)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

You are right, the price of steem is much higher than Hive, but that is based on certain threats to users not to spend the rewards and thus raise the value.

So no way I would go near steemit or any of their tokens, no matter how much they are worth....

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Ah such a touchy subject and one I remember well from back in the day. ETC to me seemed like it was supported by the people that ended up hacking it. Why else would they push so hard to keep the chain running and allow someone or a group of people get away with a hack such as that.

More than likely we will constantly see such things happen (although I'm surprised there really haven't been any recently) with code it's done by humans and humans make mistakes and people take advantage of those mistakes.

I commend white hat hackers and believe they should be rewarded for finding and reporting such exploits. I for sure don't support those that do it in order to better themselves at the expense of others.

Ethereum is far better than ETC.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

While I'm obviously not a fan of Ethereum Classic, I actually can understand the 'code is law' way of thinking that the ETC guys live by.

I know that particular hack was catastrophic, but where do you draw the line?

Is there a dollar limit on unacceptable theft?

What about if you spend money you decide you don't want to spend any more?

What about if someone sends money to someone you don't like...?

Can you have 'code is law, but...' ?

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

The pump in ETC is crazy. I was planning on buying it at $45 but kept postponing my buying. I later forgot then decided to check it if I could still get it then i saw a $100+. I was surprised that I should have gotten it when I could.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

We all have stories of should have, could have... didn't.

Lucky for us though, there's always another trading opportunity just around the corner.

Just make sure you pull the trigger next time and at least put yourself in a position to make a home run trade.

You've got this! :)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Thanks for explaining it in detail @forexbrokr. I didn't know why ETC price was pumping a few days ago.

ETH is HIVE.
ETC is STEEM.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

The only reason the Ethereum Classic (ETC) price has been pumping is because of speculators from the retail sector.

While I'm not a fan of Ethereum Classic, it's still pretty cool that the little guys can drive a market like this

ETH is HIVE.
ETC is STEEM.

LOL, sort of.

While just like Ethereum, all the development, activity, decentralisation and safety of funds is on Hive.

So why then is the price of STEEM so much higher?

It's almost like there's some form of manipulation going on!

;)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Yeah, if enough people come together, they can drive pretty much any market they want to.

It's almost like there's some form of manipulation going on!

Agreed. Steem shouldn't be worth anything considering the amount of "value" they are creating because that is totally ZERO. Hive is so underrated and it reflects in its price too.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

I also think ethereum is better... Luckily for me, I have been holding ethereun classic since 2017 in my wallet. I guess it's time to review it and may be use the profits to get ethereum. I also think Seth is better as they are involved in 6bof the top 14 coins on the crypto market. Also the finance side chain has been clogged for better part of yesterday and the day before.

I also heard somewhere that eth is planning to do something about their gas fees in their next upgrade.

Cheers to eth

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Oh nice.

How good is it when you realise you have old coins that suddenly start to pump.

While I don't have any ETC, I recently sold an old wallet full of Dogecoin that had accumulated from the old coinpot faucet haha.

What a great little find that was! :D

I'd definitely recommend dumping your ETC and putting it into ETH or heck, even Hive.

Just pick a blockchain where there's actual development going on that will lead to long term value.

Let me know how you go :)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

I actually sold a wallet too with don't coins before it pumped... I felt bad tho...

Just pick a blockchain where there's actual development going on that will lead to long term value.

I have added it to my project for the year

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

The euphoria in this coin is gigantic, let's see when we break the psychological 10K mark. A new trading signal would be nice to see again.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

A PG signal maybe? ;)

Let's wait and see what the market presents us with.

While I agree with you that 10K Ethereum is no doubt going to happen, let's just see price get through 5K first.

Actually, there's an idea for tomorrow's blog.

Cheers!

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Is that a real question?

I hope NOT ! xD

At least we agree on the answer

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

It was a very loaded question haha.

There's no doubting that Ethereum is better than Ethereum Classic.

But...

I do kinda wish I had a few ETC lying around from just before this latest pump.

While I love decentralised tech, I also love cash.

;)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Definitely some confusion out there, and I'm never really sure where noobs hear about these things unless I ask. Had a girl mention bitcoin cash to me the other day out of no where..lol I think all I said was, yeah that's a fork.

Important that beginners know the differences.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Yep, that's another one.

Maybe I'll eventually get around to doing a follow up blog titled - Which is better: Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash?

Spoiler alert for that one too, the answer is Bitcoin!

;)

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta


Your post was promoted by @finguru

Thanks guys, I'll come and drop by.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta