$ETC is trading around $12.53, with a 24-hour trading volume of approximately $23.89 million. The price has seen a slight increase of 0.22% in the last 24 hours but a decline of 1.52% over the past 7 days. The current market capitalization for ETC is about $1.94 billion, with a circulating supply of 160 million ETC.
Recent News and Developments:
Olympia Upgrade: The Olympia Upgrade is a significant development for Ethereum Classic, proposing to establish a decentralized treasury and on-chain governance. This upgrade includes ECIPs that introduce EIP-1559 with a fee burn redirected to a treasury, an immutable treasury contract, DAO governance, and a funding proposal lifecycle. Drafts for this upgrade were released in July 2025, with a testnet rollout slated for 2025 and mainnet by late 2026. The goal is to decentralize funding through community-driven proposals, reducing reliance on centralized grants.
Mining Experts' Backing: In January 2026, some mining experts highlighted Ethereum Classic as a top cryptocurrency to mine, emphasizing its Etchash algorithm compatibility with GPUs/ASICs and its capped supply of 210.7 million coins.
Price Predictions and Analysis:
Short-term: ETC is forecasted to trade within a range of $12.63 and $12.27 this week, potentially seeing a decrease of 2.83% by January 12, 2026. Some technical indicators suggest a bearish trend in the short term, with potential for further downside if support levels are broken.
2026 Outlook: Predictions for ETC in 2026 vary, with some forecasting a price range between $11.59 and $14.91, leading to an average annualized price of $12.71. Other analyses suggest a potential maximum price of $169.23 and a minimum of $44.82 for 2026.
Long-term: Looking further ahead, some predictions suggest ETC could reach $333.10 by 2030 and potentially range between $349.42 and $941.77 by 2040.
Considerations:
Security Concerns: While Ethereum Classic maintains its original code, some analysts point to concerns about its security compared to the current version of Ethereum and other leading blockchains, especially after past 51% attacks. Such attacks could lead dApp developers to migrate to other, more secure blockchains, impacting ETC's price.
Market Sentiment: ETC's price is also influenced by overall market sentiment. Bullish sentiment in the broader cryptocurrency market can drive investor interest, while bearish sentiment due to regulatory concerns or other issues can lead to sell-offs.
Underperformance Risks: Some analysts have warned against ETC for retirement portfolios, citing its underperformance compared to ETH and low DeFi adoption as key risks.
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