Ethereum Classic (ETC) Tokenomics, Unlock Schedule and Vesting Chart

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Ethereum Classic (ETC) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule

As of October 17, 2026, 156.96 million of the 210.7 million ETC (74.50%) have been released. The schedule is ongoing, with no final release date. Over the next 12 months it releases 3.8 million ETC (all estimated) from PoW Block and Uncle Rewards, worth about $30.29 million at today's price (2.40% of the market cap). Today's release is an estimated 10,889 ETC from PoW Block and Uncle Rewards.

The chart shows gross modeled releases of every allocation: vesting unlocks, new issuance and reserve distributions, each allocation counted once. These have different meanings; a scheduled release is not evidence that tokens entered circulation or were sold. Review the coverage, sources and assumptions below.

Each color segment in the chart corresponds to a specific allocation group described in the Allocations section below. Underlying assumptions and data models used to reconstruct this schedule are explained in detail under Assumptions, while broader utility insights and token use cases are covered in Tokenomics & Utility.

Tokenomics & Utility

ETC has two basic jobs within the protocol. It pays for transfers and smart-contract activity, and it rewards miners who add valid blocks. Users therefore need ETC to interact directly with applications on the chain, even when those applications involve other digital tokens. (coinbase.com)

Ethereum Classic’s issuance follows a schedule known as 5M20. Under this policy, mining rewards fall by 20% every five million blocks. The reductions make the creation of new ETC predictable over the long term. The policy sets an upper supply estimate of about 210.7 million ETC; the exact total depends in part on rewards associated with certain blocks mined close together. Unlike a schedule that ends rewards all at once, 5M20 reduces them in steps over successive eras. (ecips.ethereumclassic.org)

ETC holders do not need to lock coins to help select blocks. Mining, rather than staking, is the network’s built-in way to produce them. Holding ETC alone also does not give a person a formal vote over protocol changes. Changes move through public proposals, discussion, software releases, and adoption by network participants. (ethereumclassic.org)

Upcoming ETC Releases

Period	Allocation	Type	Amount	Value	% of supply
Oct 17 – 31, 2026	PoW Block and Uncle Rewards	Issuance, estimated	163.3K	$1.3M	0.08%
Nov 2026	PoW Block and Uncle Rewards	Issuance, estimated	326.7K	$2.6M	0.16%
Dec 2026	PoW Block and Uncle Rewards	Issuance, estimated	337.6K	$2.7M	0.16%
Jan 2027	PoW Block and Uncle Rewards	Issuance, estimated	337.6K	$2.7M	0.16%
Feb 2027	PoW Block and Uncle Rewards	Issuance, estimated	304.9K	$2.4M	0.14%
Mar 2027	PoW Block and Uncle Rewards	Issuance, estimated	337.6K	$2.7M	0.16%
Total, next 12 months			3.8M	$30.3M	1.80%

1–6 of 12 releases

of 2 pages

Values at $7.97 per ETC (October 17, 2026), today's price, not a forecast. Releases continue after September 2027. Estimated amounts are modeled from the schedule's rules rather than dated by a source; see the Assumptions below. Releases without dates are listed under Allocations.

Assumptions

Ethereum Classic began with crowdsale and other coins minted at their shared genesis in July 2015. New ETC then entered circulation through proof-of-work block subsidies and variable uncle rewards; the base subsidy falls by 20% every five million blocks. The chart shows genesis issuance and estimates the monthly placement of documented base rewards, including an open-ended projection. Uncle rewards are additional issuance but lack a complete dated schedule, so the chart does not show total ETC issuance.

PoW Block and Uncle Rewards: New issuance depends on network activity, such as staking, so it cannot be dated in advance.

Sources (18)

Max Supply 210.70M

Unlocked Supply 156.96M

Unlock Progress 74.50%

Genesis Date Jul 30, 2015

Fully Unlocked Ongoing

Allocations 3

Marketcap Rank (#) 70

Price ($) 7.92 -5.26% (7d)

24h Volume ($) 2.8M -40.05% (7d)

Marketcap ($) 1.3B

Fully Diluted Value ($) 1.7B

Circulating Supply 75% HIGH

Perpetuals: 5 markets on Binance, OKX and Hyperliquid · $33.3M open interest

Spot

Perp


ETC/USDT	3.2M	129K/229K
ETC/USDT	1.5M	14K/121K
ETC/USDT	862K	101K/138K
ETC/USD	389K	105K/184K
ETC/USDT	276K	18K/18K
ETC/USDT	179K	166K/139K
ETC/USDT	136K	121K/265K
ETC/EUR	132K	34K/156K
ETC/USD	131K	128K/229K
ETC/USDT	124K	16K/26K
ETC/USDT	82K	114K/170K
ETC/USDC	56K	102K/135K
ETC/BTC	39K	10K/43K
ETC/TRY	22K	2.4K/3.3K
ETC/USDC	12K	3.3K/6.2K
ETC/BTC	11K	59K/83K
ETC/USDC	5.4K	78K/78K
ETC/FDUSD	4.1K	1.5K/2K
ETC/USDC	4K	2.3K/3.4K
ETC/EUR	3.9K	6.9K/12K
ETC/BTC	3.6K	7.9K/2.8K
ETC/BTC	2.3K	4.5K/44K
ETC/ETH	1.6K	360/2.2K
ETC/EUR	1.4K	59K/59K

Allocations

Genesis Crowdsale Purchasers

60,000,000 tokens

Cliff: Jul 30, 2015 — 100.00% of allocation · 60,000,000 tokens

Sources: Ether Total Supply and Market Capitalization ChartEthereum Launches

Genesis Foundation and Early Contributors

12,009,990.5 tokens

Cliff: Jul 30, 2015 — 100.00% of allocation · 12,009,990.5 tokens

Sources: Ether Total Supply and Market Capitalization ChartCorrecting the Binance Article About Ethereum Classic

PoW Block and Uncle Rewards

Ongoing issuance

Protocol issuance: Block-height based · 25,000,000 tokens

Protocol issuance: Block-height based · 20,000,000 tokens

Protocol issuance: Block-height based · 16,000,000 tokens

Protocol issuance: Block-height based · 12,800,000 tokens

Protocol issuance: Block-height based · 10,240,000 tokens

Protocol issuance: amount unknown

Timing not yet established (Jul 30, 2015 - open): amount unknown

Dates past the last dated anchor are projected at 16.02 seconds per block, the observed mean between the last two dated anchors, instead of the 13-second target block interval

Dates past the last dated anchor are projected at 14.29 seconds per block, the observed mean between the last two dated anchors, instead of the 13-second target block interval

Dates past the last dated anchor are projected at 13.78 seconds per block, the observed mean between the last two dated anchors, instead of the 13-second target block interval

Dates past the last dated anchor are projected at 13.24 seconds per block, the observed mean between the last two dated anchors, instead of the 13-second target block interval

Dates past the last dated anchor are projected at 13.38 seconds per block, the observed mean between the last two dated anchors, instead of the 13-second target block interval

Open-ended per-block emission without a sourced end; dates past the last dated anchor are projected, and there is no finite total

Dates past the last dated anchor are projected at the 13-second target block interval

Sources: ECIP-1017: Monetary Policy and Final Modification to the Ethereum Classic Emission ScheduleShared Ethereum and Ethereum Classic Genesis BlockEthereum Classic Block 1,920,000The Ethereum Classic Mining Difficulty Adjustment ExplainedCorrecting the Binance Article About Ethereum ClassicEthereum Classic Block 5,295,995ECIP-1039: Monetary Policy Rounding SpecificationEthereum Classic Transaction in Block 14,874,917Ethereum Classic Block 19,694,434Ethereum Classic Transaction in Block 20,747,276MiningEthereum Classic Block 25,005,593Ethereum Classic Block 25,381,186Why You Should Mine ETCETC Proof of Work Course: 34. Mining ETC

Last Updated: 2026-09-27 07:53:11 UTC

Description

#70

Ethereum Classic is a cryptocurrency that emerged from a hard fork of Ethereum in 2016. It maintains the original vision of Ethereum as a smart contract platform that is immutable and resistant to censorship.

Sector:	Layer 1
Blockchain:	Other L1

2016

POW