As PoW miners are forced off the ETH chain, ETC is one of the most viable options to switch to. This guide is to help onboard as many ETH miners to ETC as possible. Welcome!
By combining the technology of ETH with the philosophy of BTC, ETC is uniquely positioned to be the Smart Contract Platform of the future, as other chains become compromised or captured by special interests.
Welcome, and please be invited to discover the past, present and future of Ethereum Classic; it’s principles, value proposition, community, and more – to understand why Classic.
https://ethereumclassic.org/
Table of Contents
1. Similarities
2. Differences
3. Pooled vs Solo
4. Ethereum Classic Wallets
5. Mining Software
6. Choosing an ETC Pool
Similarities between ETH and ETC mining
ETH and ETC mining share many similarities. The process is nearly identical.
- Miners do not have to worry about changing overclocks or power limits.
- Miners will not notice any difference in hashrate.
- ETH uses the algorithm ETHash while ETC uses ETCHash. These algorithms are nearly identical, with the only difference being the Epoch / DAG calculations. ETC has a smaller DAG and longer Epoch than ETH.
- ETH ASIC hardware is capable of mining ETC, although firmware update may be required to correctly build the ETC DAG. Some machines have the ability to switch between both.
- ETC and ETH blocks are produced every 12-13 seconds.
- GPU and ASIC mineable.
- Blocks, Uncles and Orphans are types of blocks.
- Block Reward: 2.56 ETC + Tx Fees
- Uncle Reward: 0.08 ETC
- Orphan Reward: 0 ETC
Differences between ETH and ETC mining
ETH miners may be familiar with the term Miners-Extractable Value, aka MEV. The term will be Maximal-Extractable Value after the switch to PoS. While there is nothing stopping this type of auction to take place on the ETC network, it just currently isn’t taking place.
ETC block rewards are on a fixed emission curve, similar to BTC. Every 5 million blocks, ETC block rewards will lower by 20%. This is known within the classic community as The Fifthening.
ETH block rewards have changed from 5 ETH, to 3 ETH, to now 2 ETH. These changes were from EIPs.
ETC has a known future supply of 210,700,000 ETC.
ETH does not have a known future supply.
Mining Pools vs Solo Mining
Unless you are a (very) large ETH miner, Pool mining is what most miners are accustomed to. Solo mining on ETH with only a few rigs, would require incredible luck in order to find a block due to the high network difficulty.
ETC currently has a much lower difficulty and smaller miners can find blocks within a reasonable amount of time.
We recommend joining a pool unless you are able to find at least 1 block per day, on average. Otherwise you may find yourself mining for weeks or longer, and in some cases you may end up with just an Uncle. Use this calculator to help figure out your chances of finding a block solo – https://2cryptocalc.com/etc-mining-calculator?hashrate=300
Ethereum Classic Wallets
As ETH miners, you know the importance of keeping your Private Keys safe. Below are different types of wallets that support ETC. These will be familiar, as they also support ETH.
Software Wallets
- Trust Wallet – Recommended
- Coinomi
- Coinbase Wallet
- Exodus Wallet
- Hebe Wallet
Hardware Wallets (Most Secure)
Exchange Wallets
When mining to exchange wallets, be sure to check if there is a minimum deposit amount. Also note that exchanges can have high block confirmation requirements.
Browser Integrated Wallets
Web Wallets
Mining Software
The mining software used for ETC is exactly the same as ETH. The only difference is the .bat file configuration.
Download the latest ETC mining software from trusted sources only. Listed below are the official GitHub repositories for the mining software.
| ETC Mining Software | Download |
| GMiner (Nvidia/AMD) | https://github.com/develsoftware/GMinerRelease/releases |
| T-Rex (Nvidia) | https://github.com/trexminer/T-Rex/releases/ |
| lolMiner (Nvidia/AMD) | https://github.com/Lolliedieb/lolMiner-releases/releases |
| Team Red Miner (AMD) | https://github.com/todxx/teamredminer/releases |
| NBMiner (AMD/Nvidia) | https://github.com/NebuTech/NBMiner/releases |
Example configurations for ETC mining software
GMiner Config:
miner --algo etchash --server usa.etcpool.us:8008 --user Your_ETC_Address -p xT-Rex Config:
t-rex -a etchash -o stratum+tcp://usa.etcpool.us:8008 -u Your_ETC_Address -p xlolMiner Config:
lolMiner --algo ETCHASH --pool usa.etcpool.us:8008 --user Your_ETC_AddressNBMiner Config:
nbminer -a etchash -o stratum+tcp://usa.etcpool.us:8008 -u Your_ETC_Address -logChoosing an ETC Pool
There are many ETC pools to pick from, use this website to filter pools to your liking: https://miningpoolstats.stream/ethereumclassic
When choosing a pool, it is important to pick a location that is geographically close to your rigs – for lowest ping. Miners should consider joining pools that are not in the top 3 in terms of hash-power. This helps decentralize the network.
Fee, minimum payout, and payout policies are important to note. PPLNS is what most pools use, but there are PPS pools which typically charge a higher fee.
If you would like to mine on our very own ETC Pool, please see the various regions below. We use a PPLNS payout system, 0.7% fee, with a 0.1 ETC minimum.
| North America | Europe | Asia | Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Server | usa.etcpool.us | eu.etcpool.us | asia.etcpool.us | au.etcpool.us |
| Stratum Port | 8008 | 8008 | 8008 | 8008 |
| Username | Your ETC Address | Your ETC Address | Your ETC Address | Your ETC Address |
| Password | X | X | X | X |
What will you do with your newly mined ETC?
Happy Mining,
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