Former ETCDev Member: Ethereum Could Threaten Ethereum Classic
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Any cooperation between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic will ultimately harm the smaller coin, with the larger network subsuming all of its benefits, according to a former manager for one of ETC’s development teams.
Donald McIntyre, who was the business development manager at ETCDev until it closed in early December, says that “stupid” collaboration attempts between the two platform networks would only damage Ethereum Classic.
“Bridges, wrappers and collaborations are a net negative for ETC as it blurs its positioning as people don’t understand the difference between ETH and ETC, and all other smart contracts platforms for that matter,” McIntyre told Crypto Briefing.
This follows news that an ETH-ETC “peaceBridge” will soon be available for the public. The protocol uses smart contracts deployed on both chains that allow users to mint tokens on one network that are backed up by deposits on the other – similar to a ‘wrapper.’
#PeaceBridge ETC-ETH Bridge Nears Completion!
This ETC/ETH bridge is thanks to the collaborative efforts by the builders from @Akomba Labs, @KyberNetwork and @ETCCooperative
Learn more about the project. Watch the demo. https://t.co/5oN4xprwbo#ClassicIsComing #EthereumClassic pic.twitter.com/WjuupDKKl6
— Ethereum Classic (@eth_classic) March 1, 2019
ETC and its principles
Ethereum Classic separated from Ethereum in 2016 after a disagreement over whether funds stolen during the DAO hack should be reversed.
The majority of the Ethereum community agreed to rewind the network, to rescind the $6.2M theft. A smaller group, which would later go on to form ETC, argued the blockchains needed to be immutable and that the hack, though regrettable, should be honoured.
Although technologically similar – as Coinbase noted when it added ETC back in the summer – many of the Ethereum Classic team believe the network’s strong views on decentralization are a unique selling point.
Speaking to Crypto Briefing back in September, Anthony Lusardi, director of Ethereum Classic Cooperative, said that the network’s “perfect record” – had become a key attraction for developers. The ETC Cooperative is a development fund which is collaborating on the peaceBridge project.
Could ETC lose its independence?
McIntyre argues that any attempt to collaborate with Ethereum will likely dilute the ETC network’s principles. The relative size of Ethereum, he says, means that cooperations between the two would draw users and developers to the larger blockchain, who would have otherwise gone to Ethereum Classic.
“As ETH is 30x larger and has more money for communications,” he told Crypto Briefing, “it is the only one that benefits from those actions because it sucks the little network effects from ETC.”
It’s not clear whether everyone affiliated with Ethereum Classic would agree. When Crypto Briefing looked into the acrimonious dispute that ensued following the break-up of ETCDev, one source said the company’s “immutability maximalism” and antipathy towards other networks, particularly Ethereum, had isolated them from the rest of the ETC community.
Representatives from Ethereum often attend Ethereum Classic conferences, like the one in Seoul in September. Although there’s no question the two networks are separate entities, collaboration is a distinct possibility. The Ethereum Foundation has even provided funding for ETC Cooperative in order to ensure the network’s long-term operational capacity.
The 51% attack – or ‘reorg‘ – at the beginning of the year did much to damage Ethereum Classic’s reputation among the wider community. It will be an uphill struggle for the network to regain some of its credibility.
While an alliance with ETH may go against what some see as the whole point of ETC, they may have very little choice in the end.
The author is invested in digital assets, including ETH which is mentioned in this article.
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