Ethereum Classic’s (ETC) price has rallied since Ethereum developers announced the scheduled date for “The Merge,” which will see the blockchain transition from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS), while Messari’s Tom Dunleavy says it won’t see sustained growth.

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Fast facts

  • “ETC price rose quickly, but looking at fundamental metrics, nothing has changed about this chain. Volumes and users have been largely unchanged for years. Applications are non-existent,” wrote Dunleavy, senior research analyst at crypto data firm Messari, in a report.
  • Ethereum Classic’s price climbed from around US$15 in mid-July to a high of US$44.46 at the end of the month. It currently sits at US$36.61 at the time of publication, according to CoinGecko.
  • On July 14, Ethereum developer Tim Beiko announced the tentative target date for “The Merge” as Sept. 19.
  • Ethereum’s transition to PoS has forced miners to migrate to other chains, with many moving to mining ETC. 
  • Ethereum was hacked in 2016, which resulted in a hard fork that became the current Ethereum blockchain, while the hacked chain was rebranded to Ethereum Classic.

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