Ethereum Classic[1] (ETC) has now successfully implemented a protocol upgrade that will ensure that mining remains viable in future, according to ETC Block Explorer data[2] yesterday, May 29.
The fork, dubbed ECIP-1041, has removed the so-called “Difficulty Bomb” feature from the ETC network at block 5,900,000. The ‘bomb’ was a component of the original Ethereum[3] (ETH) code that was designed[4] to exponentially increase the difficulty of mining to the point where it would become impractically slow, thereby triggering the need to transition to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS[5]) consensus algorithm. This feature has commonly been referred[6] to as the ‘Ethereum Ice Age,’ because it would essentially ‘freeze’ block validations.
Ethereum Classic formed after Ethereum hard-forked from the original blockchain in 2016 over disagreements in how to handle the DAO hack[7].
The ECIP-1041 protocol upgrade will not result in an AirDrop, nor in the creation of a new token.
For its part, in October 2017[8] Ethereum acted to postpone[9] the difficulty bomb by over a year, as the Foundation continues to lay the groundwork for the transition[10] to its hybrid PoS system, Casper[11].
Once Ethereum moves to PoS, ETC’s network – which reportedly has no plans to transition to PoS – could potentially hope to inherit a significant part of the mining hashpower dedicated to ETH in its current form.
The PoS-PoW debate[12] continues to divide the crypto community. Just this week, a Brazilian researcher calculated[13] that it could take just $55 mln to hack Ethereum Classic’s network to make $1 bln profit, arguing that the network’s PoW algorithm was more vulnerable to
