The birth of Ethereum Classic (ETC) originated from an event in 2016 that shocked the Crypto Assets community. In June of that year, the Decentralized Autonomous Organization The DAO on Ethereum suffered a hacker attack, resulting in a loss of up to 3.5 million ETH, approximately 50 million USD. This event sparked intense debate within the Ethereum community, ultimately leading to a critical Hard Fork.

The core of the disagreement lies in how to respond to this attack. Most people support recovering losses through a Hard Fork, while another group insists on the immutability of the blockchain. In July 2016, the Hard Fork was successfully implemented, resulting in the birth of a new Ethereum (ETH), while the chain that upheld the original transaction history became Ether Classic (ETC).

The development path of ETC has not been smooth. Under the leadership of Igor Artamonov, the team upholds the principle of "code is law". Although the initial performance was poor, in March 2017, a fixed total supply of 210 million coins was established, and with the establishment of the Grayscale ETC Trust, new momentum was injected into its development. The first global summit held in Hong Kong in November 2017 further propelled the rise in ETC's price.

However, ETC also faces many challenges. At the end of 2018, the main development team ETCDEV ceased operations due to funding issues. In early 2019, the ETC network suffered a 51% attack, resulting in the loss of a large amount of ETC and seriously damaging its reputation. Although the attackers later returned the funds, this incident still cast a shadow over ETC.

In 2021, as the cryptocurrency market overall rebounded, the price of ETC soared to a historic high of 167 USD. However, it was not spared from the general downward trend of the market thereafter. As of recently, the market capitalization of ETC is approximately 34.61 billion RMB, with the price fluctuating around 31 USD.

Despite the ups and downs, ETC still holds a place in the Crypto Assets field. Its existence is not only the result of technical choices but also reflects the different understandings of decentralization and immutability within the blockchain community. The story of ETC, to some extent, also reflects the development journey of the entire Crypto Assets industry - filled with challenges, yet containing opportunities.