Ethereum Classic Undergoes Network Update Removing Difficulty Feature

Disagreements between digital currency users and developers often result in hard forks, which are meant to split the chain into two separate digital currencies, each with its unique features.

Back in 2016, Ethereum had one of its first hard forks, when the blockchain was split into Ethereum Classic and Ethereum. The reasons behind this split were several, yet the main concern was the code which allowed for an increase in the difficulty of mining blocks over time. The initial feature was created to encourage a price increase, while also keeping the network in balance.

Now, recent reports indicate that Ethereum Classic has just removed the so-called ‘difficulty bomb’. With this in mind, the network upgrade, took place at the 5.8 millionth block, as network data points out.

At this moment in time, it is quite difficult to determine how many of the Ethereum nodes updated the software to remove increasing mining difficulty. However, project developers have stated that most of the Ethereum Classic mining pools and exchange nodes have updated their software prior to the fork, to ensure full support.

Because of this, the network suffered no bugs and things proceeded as normal following the fork. Apart from removing the mining difficulty, the update is bound to reduce the time required to create a block, which in turn, will also lead to shorter confirmation times. Now that the update is complete, there are both technical and ideology differences between the two separate cryptocurrencies.

 One of the main other differences, is the fact that Ethereum Classic is committed to using the proof-of-work algorithm in the future as well. On the other hand, the Ethereum community will soon transition to using the proof-of-stake consensus algorithm, which may be able to provide several benefits. The ETC community believes that the proof-of-work algorithm is the best method of reaching consensus, and that it drastically reduces chances for centralization of the currency. Additionally, those in favour of PoW believe that requiring miners to actively invest in purchasing better hardware translates to more investments in the blockchain, hence in a bigger shelf life for the coin.

Bitcoin also had several hard forks over the years, resulting in an array of separate digital currencies, including Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, and more. Currently, only Bitcoin Cash has managed to achieve somewhat of a success, granted that it is trading at $1,007 at the time of writing. Bitcoin, however, remains the cryptocurrency with the highest price.