Ethereum Classic, much like its brother Ethereum is built upon a blockchain that allows for the development of other features and projects. Ethereum Classic claims to be the ‘smarter blockchain’ keeping tight to the roots of the original Ethereum project (hence the name, Ethereum Classic).

According to the Ethereum Classic website:

“Ethereum Classic (ETC) is a smarter blockchain, it is a network, a community, and a cryptocurrency that takes digital assets further. In addition to allowing people to send value to each other, ETC allows for complex contracts that operate autonomously and cannot be modified or censored. This may be best explained with an analogy, imagine Bitcoin as a landline phone—it does one thing very well. ETC is like a smartphone—it can do everything Bitcoin can and much more.”

We can delve further into this, as it’s a little bit more complicated than simply just, ‘Ethereum Classic is like a smartphone’. The technology underlying Ethereum Classic allows for very efficient transfers to be made, all thanks to one of the longest running smart contract blockchains to ever exist:

“ETC allows highly efficient value transfers (more so than Bitcoin and its variants), has a focus on IoT applications, and runs a mathematically verified Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM. What this means is that ETC is great at what it sets out to do: be a highly efficient means of exchange that connects the world’s devices. Our developer teams are working on the technology and partnerships that will allow for seamless use of the ETC network everywhere blockchain is needed.”

One such developer team, funded by the Ethereum Classic Cooperative Grant is known as Project Goerli, a project led by Afri Schoedon and Aidan Hyman that wish to change the way PoA testnets operate within the Ethereum Classic blockchain. PoA stands for Proof of Authority and is common within the Ethereum blockchain. According to a press release by the Ethereum Classic Cooperative:

“If you’ve ever tried to use a testnet on the various Ethereums you’ve likely encountered issues including the need to mine your own blocks, client incompatibility, and difficulty getting transactions included in blocks. These issues vary depending on which chain you’re using but ultimately it means that developers, especially new ones, experience substantial friction testing their applications in a live environment.”

These are exactly the problems that Project Goerli are trying to solve, ensuring that issues such as a need to mine own blocks, client incompatibility and other general difficulties can be ironed out of projects within the Ethereum Classic network. Since the Ethereum Classic Cooperative are so keen to see this project through, according to their press release, the cooperative have rewarded Schoedon, Hyman and their team $125,000.00 to continue progressing their project with the hope that a new PoA testnet will be ready for rollout in around six months time.