DAO
In 2016, a venture capital fund based on the Ethereum network called the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) raised $168 million dollars for investing in smart contract projects. The DAO was hacked due to a vulnerability in the network, $50 million dollars was stolen, and the Ethereum team decided to split the blockchain (hard fork) to render the stolen assets worthless and reimburse the victims.
How ETC was born
Members of the Ethereum community rebelled against this authoritative motion to move Ethereum onto a new chain as it compromised its promise of decentralization and immutability. The community that rebelled continued to use and develop the original chain that was meant to die off, and so Ethereum classic (ETC) was born.
Company Message
(thereumclassic.github.io) "Ethereum Classic is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference."
In regards to technical differences between ETH and ETC, they are very few. The biggest differences between ETH and ETC are not technical, but rather ideological. The main technical difference between the two projects are that ETC has a capped supply unlike ETH, which currently doesn’t have a maximum supply. Another difference between the two would be that ETH plans to move to a PoS consensus, while ETC continues to work on its Proof of Work protocol.
The ETC project also uses its own version of the EVM.
SputnikVM is an open source standalone implementation of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). EVM is the runtime environment for smart contracts in Ethereum. It is a 256-bit register stack, designed to run the same code exactly as intended. It is the fundamental consensus mechanism for Ethereum blockchain.
There was quite a split in the Ethereum community regarding the hardfork, and there were strong arguments on both sides, which boiled down to users going with either ETC or ETH depending on which aligned with their ethical viewpoint.
When the hard-fork was implemented, users that did not agree with it decided not to upgrade their software and to continue mining on the blockchain that did not have this implementation. Since the hard-fork creates an incompatibility between the new and previous versions, the users that decided to remain on the "original" blockchain, have diverged into their own blockchain that is identical to Ethereum's in every way until block 1920000.
Luckily for us, both Trezor and Ledger offer support for ETC. Though do keep in mind that the devices are costly and new users might find it hard to figure them out.
Ledger
As for using the Nano Ledger S, the first step towards setting up your device is unboxing your device and checking if you have received all the accessories coming with it. Once you have unboxed your device, you need to configure it and initialize it before being able to use it. The process is quite simple and will hardly take about 20-30 minutes post which you will be set to use your Ledger Nano S device.
This video does a pretty good job of explaining how the setup works.
Trezor
As for Trezor, installing is really simple. To properly install it users should attach the unit to the computer. After that continue with installing the bridge which allows the Trezor to join with the computer. The first step is to connect the Trezor to device’s USB slot with the cable given in the box. After that, go to myTrezor.com and proceed with installing the browser extension. Trezor can also be used on Android or an iPhone, or on a Windows or Mac computer. Now, initiate the extension and myTrezor will direct you to pick a PIN. After this, you will notice nine buttons but the numbers are hidden. After this, users should check the Trezor’s screen to recognize which numbers are in which place because it switches every time. Now set the PIN. Shortly after, Trezor should present a 24-word wallet “seed”. In short, one word at a time. Note down this seed and save it carefully. If your Trezor device malfunctions or is lost, you can utilize the seed to reconstruct the complete wallet.
This video explains how to set up your trezor quite well.
ETC is a widely recognized currency and that translates to being supported by a lot of wallets in different variations. However, we will go with two with our favorites- Jaxx or Exodus.
Jaxx
What's really great about jaxx.io is that it doesn’t store the private keys on its servers but on the device of your choosing. Another reason to love Jaxx is cross-platform functionality. It is available on 9 different platforms and can be interlinked with all these platforms which means that the same balances and wallet is available when a different device is being used.
Exodus
Another good example of a desktop wallet that supports Ethereum Classic is Exodus, which supports numerous other cryptocurrencies along with ETC and is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Just download the app from the official site(exodus.io) and get straight into creating your wallet. Exodus stores your Private Keys on the machine you choose and not on any server, providing you with relative peace of mind when it comes to the security of your coins.
The obvious choice when it comes to online wallets is, of course, MyEtherWallet(MEW). The wallet offers a brilliant combination of speed, trustworthiness and simplicity, making it the most popular online wallet for Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and EOS.
MyEtherWallet
Simply visit myetherwallet.com and set up your wallet with a method of your choosing, just make sure to store your private key somewhere safe. It's wise to have it written down on paper in case your PC/notebook malfunctions.
The only downside to using an online wallet like MEW is that there are literally hundreds of phishing scams out there to get your eth, so you better double check the address every time and make sure to watch out for any malicious activity on your browser or PC.
Coinbase
Coinbase is a convenient and cheap way to buy Ethereum Classic (if avaliable in your country). Coinbase will charge a fee of between 1.49% and 3.99% depending on your payment method (credit cards have a higher fee than wire transfers). The buying process itself is very simple. Just create and account and add your payment method, then go to the Buy/Sell section and simply input the amount you wish to buy.
Alternatives
Aside from Coinbase, there aren't many more reputable sites that offer ETC purchases with credit card. If you have some BTC on the side, you could always buy from an exchange like Binance or Bitfinex
