ETCEthereum Classic: history, founders and key events
From Jul 20, 2016 to today, every major rally, crash and upgrade, each with a dated, sourced price.
Open the interactive timelineLatest close in our data: $8.04 (Coinbase Exchange ETC/USD daily close, 2026-10-14).
Origin story
Ethereum Classic is the original Ethereum chain, kept alive by people who rejected the July 20, 2016 hard fork that reversed the DAO hack. Their motto is code is law.
ETC kept proof of work when Ethereum moved to proof of stake in 2022, and some former Ethereum miners moved to it.
Founders: Continuation of the original Ethereum chain after the DAO fork.
Source: Binance ETC/USDT daily closes 2018-06-12 to 2018-08-07; Coinbase Exchange ETC/USD daily closes 2018-08-08 to 2026-10-14. Fetched Oct 14, 2026 from free public APIs. Click a dot for the event and its price on that day.
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Key events
- Jul 20, 2016fork
Ethereum Classic begins
The unforked chain continues after the DAO fork. - Jun 12, 2018milestone
First daily close in our data $14.63 (Binance ETC/USDT daily close, 2018-06-12)
Our sourced ETC price history begins on this day. - Jan 7, 2019crash
51 percent attack $5.01 (Coinbase Exchange ETC/USD daily close, 2019-01-07)
Attackers rewrite ETC history to double spend. - Aug 1, 2020crash
Repeated 51 percent attacks $7.85 (Coinbase Exchange ETC/USD daily close, 2020-08-01)
ETC suffers several attacks in August 2020. - May 6, 2021rally
Highest close in our data $141.06 (Coinbase Exchange ETC/USD daily close, 2021-05-06)
The highest daily close for ETC in our price history. - Aug 18, 2026crash
Lowest close after the peak $6.08 (Coinbase Exchange ETC/USD daily close, 2026-08-18)
The lowest ETC close in our data after its highest close.
Updated
Sources
Facts written in our own words. Last checked Oct 14, 2026.