Ever since their split, the crypto market has been largely dominated by Ethereum. However, did you know that the developer’s favorite token has a counterpart too?
Yes, we’re talking of ETH’s less talked about counterpart Ethereum Classic (ETC). Having been overlooked by investors for a long time, the token became prominent in the spring of 2021. Since then, investors and traders have been looking forward to the future movements of the token.
Besides, many are looking forward to its future potential, considering the positive movement that the token has presented. So continue reading as we explore the price movement for the token for 2023.
Ethereum Classic: Insight Into Its History
Ethereum was initially the sole Blockchain program proposed and designed by Vitalik Buterin in 2013. The idea behind the project was to have a platform that would allow users to set decentralized smart contracts. In addition, Ethereum would act as an intermediary between them to automatically process agreements once specific demands between any two parties are met.
However, things changed for the program in 2016 when Ethereum moved toward a DAO. The transition was successful, and the Blockchain raised $150 million in funds. But a flaw in the ‘Split Function’ code allowed hackers to withdraw $50 million, resulting in a hard fork and reputation damage to the Blockchain.
This is where the program was split into two; one kept the original Blockchain and rebranded it as ECS (Ethereum Classic), while the other was Ethereum (ETH).
ETC’s Mainstream Boom: Just A Mere Push?
ETC has been hiding in plain sight for a long time. Most investors have overlooked the token for its inconsistent performance and switched to ETH for better gains.
However, in early 2021, the Ethereum Classic price went through a correction stage, entering a bullish trend. The price movements show that the token started to pick up the pace from its $30 region, slowly moving to $40 in an uptrend. This pace eventually allowed the token to move to a new all-time high of $133.68 in the first week of May.
But the token couldn’t sustain its peak and adopted a bearish pattern in the long run and eventually fell to $39 by 22nd June 2021. Following this, there wasn’t much continued with a rangebound movement, ending the year around the $34 mark.
ETC In 2022: Price Movement So Far
ETC was among the first few tokens to have caught the wind of the upcoming crypto winter as it entered 2022 with a bearish pattern. The token entered January around the $34 range and continued to maintain its low until the end of March, sustaining at $29.
Moving ahead, the token was able to climb up to $42 on 17th August 2022. This significant pump meant a 70% increase in valuation from the subpar $20-25 range it had been throughout July. Furthermore, from August to November, the token was able to pump nearly 85%, indicating that it had recovered from its previous slumps.
Interestingly, the movement resembled ETH’s price pattern, showing that the tokens follow a similar price trend. Adding more to the insight, it’s evident that ETH and ETC follow a similar price movement, mainly because both the tokens share a similar Blockchain code.
At the time of writing, ETC has a market circulation of 163 million tokens with a limited supply of 210.7 million. All these factors have pushed ETC as the 23rd largest token in the market by capitalization.
Latest Developments That Could Influence ETC’S Future Price
Although Ethereum Classic has been on the market only since 2016, the token has been upfront with optimistic news and good market performance. So here are some factors which we think could affect the token’s future movements:
- Backed by a stern community: Technically, the ETC community takes pleasure in adopting a more cautious approach towards their Blockchain technology. As opposed to Ethereum’s fast-moving and adaptive approach, ETC maintains an immutable ledger on its Blockchain.
- Revised protocols: The ETC community implemented its hard fork to tackle the market threat. The foundation created a “difficulty bomb,” eventually making mining Ethereum more difficult. By making mining unprofitable, the protocol is ‘frozen’ for use. This way, the revised protocols intend to compel the ETH community to hard fork to a new version of the protocol, possibly introducing PoS mining.
- Monetary policy: An impending modification to ETC monetary policy could be the most significant development in the token’s history. As per the news, the 72 million pre-mined ETH would soon be replaced with a revised model. Ethereum Classic is said to adopt a similar inflation schedule and initial distribution as its counterpart.
All these factors are expected to have an immense role in ETC’s future price movement. However, these speculations could be influenced by market movements and influence.
Ethereum Classic Price Prediction For 2023
Our Ethereum Classic prediction suggests that ETC will maintain a streamlined approach to trading, moving with a narrow bearish pattern during the Q1 trade. However, the token is said to eventually intensify its pattern, moving to $100 by the beginning of Q2. However, if there’s any pullback, the price might drop to $70-80.
Moving ahead to the second half of 2022, the token will move with a consolidated price until Q3. Lastly, by Q4, the token is expected to be $120 or surpass such levels. But the investors and traders should also be ready to face rejection.
Final Thoughts
This brings us to the end of our blog on the possibilities for ETH in 2023. But before you decide to invest, here are a few things to note. First of all, it appears as though ETC will always be under Ether’s shadow. It is still possible for investors to benefit from the currency, so this is not inherently a bad thing, but it is something to be aware of.
For instance, Ether was handily surpassing ETC at the time of writing on August 17, 2022, with a market cap of more than $230.7 billion and a value of just under $1,890. While some supporters of Ethereum are looking forward to the Flippening when Ether (ETH) surpasses Bitcoin (BTC), only a few believe ETC will surpass ETH.
Second, the past twelve months have not been wonderful for ETC. It has had market collapses since reaching an all-time high of $176.16 on May 6, 2021, and it sometimes seems as though anytime it gains velocity, it temporarily reverts to Earth.
So invest wisely and ensure you know the ETC token’s price movement. All the best!
