Coinbase has announced that it is adding support for Ethereum Classic (ETC) to its Wallet app. This should happen over the next few days, allowing users to send and receive ETC using the same address as their current ETH balance. The Coinbase Index Fund also includes ETC.
The move comes after the company discovered a rare “chain reorganization” – a double-spend attack – on the Ethereum Classic blockchain. The Coinbase team subsequently paused ETC deposits and withdrawals while the attack was investigated. The company’s automated systems first alerted the team, then on-call engineers took action. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful, but it triggered Coinbase’s suspension of ETC transactions.
Regardless of the reason for the sudden stoppage of ETC, users should take precautionary steps to keep their funds safe. One of the best ways is to increase the number of confirmation blocks before depositing. Many exchanges, such as Bitfly and Kraken, have already increased the amount of confirmations needed for ETC deposits. Some exchanges have even disabled ETC wallets, though they have not said when or if they will re-enable them.
Despite the new name, the Ethereum Classic is the original version of the Ethereum protocol. It uses the original blockchain instead of the cloned version. While 10% of the Ethereum community voted to keep it, the decision was ultimately a speculative one. In the crypto market, a speculative asset has a tendency to maintain its value regardless of who owns it.