Exclusive Interview with Ethereum Classic Community Manager

After the chain split that resulted in Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, Ethereum Classic has continued to thrive as an open-source platform that supports smart contract functionality and allows decentralized applications to be built upon the platform.  By staying true to the original philosophy of a truly immutable blockchain, the Ethereum Classic team continues to move forward in the crypto space.

In this interview, Deepak chats with Anthony, community manager for Ethereum Classic, about the goals and visions of ETC, their development milestones, and how ETC will continue to progress as a large contender focusing on smart contracts and dapps.

Tell us about yourself and your involvement with the Ethereum Classic project.

I do community management for Ethereum Classic, so I wear a lot of hats, manage a lot of our social media (Discord, Reddit, Forums), and try to help out wherever I can. I’ve been here since the beginning.

How would you describe what Ethereum Classic is to someone that is new to the cryptocurrency space?

Ethereum Classic is highly principled and decentralized. We are a community where developers and users alike are able to use blockchains without having to play politics.

Can you discuss the main differences between Ethereum Classic and Ethereum?

I’ve actually written an article about that here.

The key differences are: we won’t change your transactions. No one group has the final say, which avoids contentious changes. We’re popular internationally (relatively high volume in South Korea and China). We have a fixed monetary supply that is similar to Bitcoin’s. Lastly, we’re accessible to accredited investors (through the Ethereum Classic Investment Trust).

What are the long term goals of the Ethereum Classic project?

You’ll have to ask the individual development teams. For me personally, it’s to make Ethereum Classic more accessible to users and developers. Right now blockchains are hard to use and I want to see that fixed. This is why I, with funding from The ETC Cooperative, have headed a project focused on creating a more robust testnet for developers.

Is there any competition from other blockchain projects in the cryptospace? If so, what is the competition?

I think what we offer is something far more unique when you consider the whole ecosystem. That being said, of course, most people will see any smart contract platform as potential competition. Whether they truly are or not is another matter.

I really want to get away from focusing on competition and move towards a more interoperable network of blockchains. There’s not going to be any one winner in this. You even see this now, where the Cardano (ADA) wallet has added support for Ethereum Classic and I look forward to more interoperability in the future.

What are some problems that the Ethereum Classic team has encountered?

Getting started was tough. We went from having the Ethereum Foundation and a sizable community to no leadership or structure. Luckily, we had Bitnovosti and many others to help us create a path.

It’s also tough having multiple decentralized teams. However, the end result of this difficulty is that when changes do happen, they are well supported by the community. We saw this with the ETC Monetary Policy where over 95% of nodes upgraded. You don’t see that kind of agreement in many places.

Can you discuss in detail what the Emerald Project is?  What benefits does this project bring to the table for the ETC community?

My own view is that so far it has given us one of the best wallets in the cryptocurrency space. It’s beautiful, easy to use, and you can be transacting on Ethereum Classic in minutes by using its light client functionality. Longer term, the project will make development of Ethereum Classic Contracts/dapps much easier.

A more thorough overview of the Emerald Project can be found here.

What is the central point of utility for the ETC coin?

I think we have two: high liquidity due to many ETH holders selling their coins back at the fork, and contracts that will run free from outside influence.

Where do you think blockchain technology will be 5 years from now?

I think we’ll see more advancements in decentralized record-keeping and distributed computing. My hope is that in 5 years the market has matured to a point where buying groceries with cryptocurrencies is a real thing.

Is there anything you would like our readers and potential future investors to know about Ethereum Classic?

We’ve got a lot more potential and active development than most give us credit for. We’re also one of the few communities where you’re not required to tow the party line because there is no party line. Much like the internet itself, users with different opinions and goals are allowed to coexist.

To learn more about Ethereum Classic, visit their website.You can also join their community on Twitter, Discord or Reddit.