Most of the top cryptocurrencies on the market rely on miners to secure the network. Ethereum Classic is no exception, yet its total hashrate has been skyrocketing as of late.

This is a somewhat surprising turn of events, following a lull in hashrate during the first half of 2019. Current levels have not been reached since late 2018.

Mining Ethereum Classic

It is crucial for any PoW-based cryptocurrency to secure mining support. Without the miners, there is no network security. Additionally, it becomes difficult to push transactions through the network. In the case of Ethereum Classic, there appears to be plenty of mining support right now.

There are also several mining pools to choose from. Ethermine is the biggest contributor at this time. Nanopool and Miningpoolhub are also worth exploring. Beepool is suddenly gaining a lot of hashpower as well.

All of this goes to show people are willing to support this ecosystem. Most of the mining calculators indicate that ETC is more profitable than ETH at this time. It is unfortunate that neither of these chains provides merged mining as of right now. Adding that feature would help set both ecosystems apart even more.

The ETC Hashrate Spike

Statistics provided by BitInfoCharts paint an interesting picture. It confirms how the Ethereum Classic hashrate is increasing rapidly. This uptrend began in July 2019 and is still ongoing, despite a few dips along the way.

In the past few days, an extra 4 terahash per second has been pointed at the network. A substantial amount, as it increases the total hashrate by nearly 30%. This seems to relate to how ETC is more profitable to mine. For miners, it is crucial to keep an eye on profitability at all times.

It is remarkable to see the current ETC hashrate reach these thresholds. The previous time 15 terahash was surpassed dates back to mid-October of 2018. This doesn’t automatically mean the Ethereum Classic price will surge to higher levels.

However, some miners are seemingly trying to scoop up ETC for a rainy day.

JP Buntinx JP Buntinx is passionate about cryptocurrencies, fintech, blockchain, and finance. He currently resides in Belgium. See author's posts