Ethereum Classic (ETC) is a forked chain of the Ethereum network, which originated from a major event in 2016 - "The DAO" attack. At that time, a smart contract vulnerability caused hackers to steal about 3.6 million ether. In order to recover funds and enhance security, the Ethereum community decided to conduct a hard fork to return the stolen funds to the original holder's account. However, this decision caused controversy. Some community members insisted on the principle of blockchain immutability and refused hard forks, eventually forming two independent blockchains, Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Ethereum (ETH).

ETC retains the data and transaction records of the original Ethereum chain, emphasizing decentralization and immutability. ETC's technical foundation is similar to ETH. It also uses the PoW (proof of work) consensus mechanism and supports smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps). However, there are significant differences between the two in community governance and technical roadmaps. ETH gradually shifts to PoS (proof of stake), while ETC sticks to PoW.

Although ETC's market value and user activity are far less than ETH, its existence is still of great significance. ETC provides an option for users who value the immutability of blockchain, while also maintaining the technical architecture and concepts of early Ethereum. ETC's development team has been working hard to improve its network security and scalability to avoid the recurrence of similar DAO incidents.

ETC's market value fluctuates greatly, reaching a high point in the bull market in 2017. Due to its close connection with ETH, ETC's price trend is often greatly affected by ETH. For investors, ETC has both potential high returns and high risks. Understanding its technical background and market dynamics is crucial to investment decisions.

The core of blockchain technology is distributed ledgers and consensus mechanisms. ETC achieves secure storage of data and transparent recording of transactions through decentralized network nodes. Smart contracts are one of the important functions of ETC, allowing developers to build complex decentralized applications on the blockchain, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and supply chain management systems.

The decentralized nature of ETC gives it a unique advantage in the field of fintech. It eliminates the role of intermediaries in the traditional financial system, reduces transaction costs and improves efficiency. The global and borderless nature of ETC also facilitates cross-border transactions and asset transfers, and promotes the process of global financial integration.

In addition, ETC's community governance model is different from ETH, with more emphasis on community consensus and autonomous governance. This makes ETC more democratic in handling disputes and decision-making, but it may also lead to reduced efficiency. Despite many challenges, the ETC community is still actively exploring its future development direction and promoting technological innovation and ecosystem construction.