• The inventor of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, explained that it would be technically possible to implement Ethereum Classic in an Ethereum 2.0 shard.
• However, an implementation is more than questionable and has no known advocates so far.

In a Reddit post, Vitalik Buterin started an interesting but controversial discussion. When asked whether a reunion of Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC) would be possible using the Eth 2.0 Beacon Chain, Buterin answered with a clear “yes”. However, the statement did not arouse much enthusiasm, neither from the ETH nor from the ETC community.

Buterin explained that Ethereum Classic, at least technically, could easily be integrated into an Ethereum 2.0 shard, just like the current ETH proof of work (PoW) blockchain:

Technically very possible! You can just use the same merger process to import the ETC state that is planned for ETH, and then the ETC execution environment code would enforce a different exchange rate vs beacon chain eth, based on the rate at the time of the merger (or some other pre-agreed formula). This is if you want to re-merge the currencies.

Whether or not the communities want it is of course another question.

As Buterin describes, the price of ETC could be linked to that of ETH. For example, an ETC could be worth 0.1 ETH.

Is a merger between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic likely?

From a purely technical point of view, as Buterin explains, the Shard technology of Ethereum 2.0 makes it possible to copy various functional mechanisms of other blockchains and implement them in a shard. This could create a runtime environment that is adapted to the needs of the Ethereum Classic blockchain. However, as Buterin also notes, it is up to the two communities to decide whether they support the idea.

As a matter of fact, Ethereum Classic with its hard forks, most recently Agharta, aims at increased interoperability with the Ethereum Blockchain. In April 2019, ETC developer Donald McIntyre announced that the interoperability of Ethereum Classic with Ethereum is a major concern of the developers to create a truly safe and efficient blockchain. However, as discussed in the crypto community, Ethereum Classic could also position itself as a conservative option and possibly as an exit option for ETH miners when ETH moves to Proof of Stake.

However, the future of Ethereum Classic seems at least questionable. As a new DappReview report shows, Ethereum, TRON and EOS are responsible for 98 percent of the transaction volume of the entire dApp industry in 2019. As the data confirms, Ethereum Classic has not been able to gain a foothold in the dApps sector. Also, the booming DeFi trend has passed by Ethereum Classic so far. From a purely objective point of view, a merger could certainly make sense.

However, various community members were not very enthusiastic about the idea. An Ethereum supporter wrote:

I’ll take the liberty of speaking for the community. ; ) No, we don’t care about ETC. We just want ETH 2.0 and POS as soon as possible, and without wasting resources/time on stuff that matters to nobody, like ETC/ETH merge.

Another user remarked:

It’s not going to happen. ETC serves a valuable purpose to the Ethereum community by attracting the folks who fall out of Eth social consensus. (ie, the “exit” of exit, voice, loyalty)

So far there are no advocates for the idea either. Rather, it is merely a technical consideration of the feasibility by Buterin.

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