Ethereum Classic and the need for Crypto Custody

In just over ten years the original white paper concept of a peer-to-peer electronic cash system has become a crypto economy that is evolving at lightning speed. We have progressed from a single decentralized virtual currency in 2009, to smart contract-based blockchains supporting thousands of different crypto assets today. Ethereum emerged in 2013 with a […]

In just over ten years the original white paper concept of a peer-to-peer electronic cash system has become a crypto economy that is evolving at lightning speed. We have progressed from a single decentralized virtual currency in 2009, to smart contract-based blockchains supporting thousands of different crypto assets today. Ethereum emerged in 2013 with a promising range of possible decentralized applications or dApps and Ethereum Classic has continued to flourish as a compatible sibling platform.

The Ethereum Classic community is growing along with the enhanced technical development and utilization of ETC. The key ETC components of a fixed monetary policy, retaining Proof of Work as the consensus system, and increasing collaboration around the Ethereum Stack all contribute to keeping Ethereum Classic in the top 5–10 most traded crypto-assets. ETC consistently sees more daily transactions than Litecoin, Dash, Doge, Monero, and other top cryptocurrencies.

The same short period has also seen headline-grabbing stories about electronic thieves hacking and phishing crypto wallets, and cybercriminals targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and causing millions of bitcoin and other altcoins to suddenly ‘vanish’ and accounts being completely lost. The industry is rapidly working on ownership safeguards and custody solutions and has come a long way in developing high level and reliable security and custody options.

From self-custody using both hot and cold hardware and software wallets, to regulated and unregulated exchanges, there are many ways to store crypto-assets, but most come with risks and vulnerabilities.