Ethereum Classic [ETC] risks 51% Proof-of-Work (PoW) finality fraud. This was the current state of ETC as per a recent risk evaluation of its ecosystem.
However, this danger did not just spring up as it was a possible outcome of the ETC network as the Ethereum [ETH] Merge draws closer.
As ETH would finally switch to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) in September, it is expected that ETC would be affected. This projection, if happens, will not be the first ETC to experience a 51% attack.
In August 2020, a similar incident occurred. This event led to a block reward delay and also negatively affected the hashrate.
Source: MeowsBits
Now, ETC could follow that route. Even crypto developer Steven Lohja claimed that it is a possibility. However, ETC seems not to pay heed to this potential danger with its current price movement.
Not my business
In spite of the attack projection, ETC seems more concerned about making profits for its investors. At press time, data on CoinMarketCap revealed that ETC was 11.70% against Tether [USDT].
Out of the top twenty cryptocurrencies, ETC was the only asset with a double-digit spike in the last 24 hours.
The price at the time of writing was $36.88.
For investors, this could be a positive outcome following a new All-Time High (ATH) of its hashrate. After it hit the hashrate of 37.34TH/s earlier, ETC went further higher to hit 42.52 TH/s per 2Miners data.
Source: 2Miners
A look at the ETC charts showed that the coin was strong on its current momentum. The Directional Movement Index (DMI) was in support of this position.
The positive DMI (green) maintained a solid position above the negative DMI (red) at 26.12, compared to the latter’s 16.90.
However, there were signs that ETC may not maintain the momentum as the Average Directional Index (ADX) in yellow pointed in a downward direction.
Source: TradingView
On-chain analysis
While assessing ETC’s on-chain data on Santiment, it was seen that the crypto had increased in volume. As per the platform, ETC was up 10.08% in volume with its flow at $1.12 billion from 24 August.
To add to it, development activity looks to be on the rise. As of 21 August, development activity on the ETC network was 0.02. Being at 0.09 at the time of this writing could mean that there have been developments in preparation towards the Merge.
Source: Santiment
