Ethereum Classic (ETC) At A Four-Month High, What Does The Ethereum Merge Upgrade Have to Do With the Project?

• As the Ethereum Merge upgrade approaches, Ethereum Classic (ETC) has been rallying to reach a new 4-month high.
• Is the predicted Ethereum fork a validation of Ethereum Classic?

Ethereum Classic has rallied for the last couple of days, recently reaching a new 4-month high. In the last few hours, ETC topped $42. The rally coincided with Ethereum’s ETH. For ETH, the upcoming Merge upgrade is behind its rally. With the upgrade, Ethereum will be able to shift from a proof-of-work algorithm to a proof-of-stake algorithm. This transition comes with a lot of benefits including faster transaction speeds, lower gas fees, better scaling, and energy consumption efficiency.

Ethereum Classic is a fork of Ethereum. The network emerged after a hack of The DAO project, causing a split within the Ethereum community.

https://twitter.com/eth_classic/status/1557357034265346048?

With the upcoming upgraded, the community is anticipating another split, with part of the community opting to remain on the proof-of-work protocol. As CryptoNewsMedia reported a few days ago, Chainlink has made public its support of the Proof-of-stake protocol. Others including Binance, Tether, and other prominent establishments have also thrown their weight behind the new protocol.

However, a section of miners is adamant that it is forking and remaining in the ‘original’ protocol. Some have accused the Ethereum team of coming up with the Merge upgrade as a bullish stance to stimulate the prices of ETH.

Does This Validate Ethereum Classic (ETC)

As it is, one fundamental difference that has allured ETC investors is its market cap of the total number of coins. ETC is capped at 210.7 million ETC while Ethereum has no cap.

i fork ethereum once，i will fork it again！ https://t.co/3DdlZ3zMz9

— ChandlerGuo (@ChandlerGuo) July 27, 2022

Part of the community which does not agree with the transition but is not sold on the upcoming forks is seeking Ethereum Classic. ETC is seeing a spike in activity thanks to the increased interest in the move.

Some of the most vocal members who are objecting to the transition are miners who will no longer be benefiting from mining Ethereum. With some investing millions in the industry, they are seeking to protect their investment by holding out on the transition.