Ethereum Classic Price Declines Amid Broader Market Weakness
Ethereum Classic (ETC) traded in the red on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, down nearly 3% as top coins continued to struggle with bearish pressure. The broad sell-off that hit altcoins on February 5, 2026, pushed Ethereum Classic down sharply to around $7.40.
Many buyers who entered near the July 2025 highs of about $25 saw their positions turn into unrealised losses, most of which remain underwater at current levels. However, sentiment showed tentative improvement on February 10, when ETC climbed to intraday highs of $8.69, supported by a 5% rise in daily trading volume to around $64 million.
Market Technical Outlook
On the daily chart, the relative strength index has stabilised in oversold territory, pointing to the possibility of an upward shift in momentum, with signs of seller exhaustion and the emergence of a bullish divergence increasing the likelihood of a stronger recovery move. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is pointing to a potential bullish crossover, while improving on-chain accumulation metrics have added to tentative optimism.
Major Protocol Developments: Olympia Upgrade
The Ethereum Classic community released draft ECIPs for the Olympia Upgrade, introducing an on-chain DAO, protocol treasury, and EIP-1559-style fee redirection, with the upgrade aiming to decentralize funding decisions via proposals (ECFPs) and align incentives for long-term development.
Testnet activation on Mordor is planned for Q3 2026, with mainnet deployment targeted by late 2026. ECIP-1111 activates EIP-1559 but redirects 80% of base fees to a treasury instead of burning them, while ECIP-1113 establishes an on-chain DAO, allowing stakeholders to submit and vote on funding proposals (ECFPs).
Institutional Adoption and Infrastructure
Several leading institutional crypto custody providers now support Ethereum Classic (ETC), enabling professional market participants to securely manage their ETC holdings with secure private-key management, operational controls, and compliance tools, similar to traditional financial infrastructure, providing a regulated and secure way for institutions to gain exposure to ETC.
Technical Innovation: Fukuii Client Testing
The Ethereum Classic community has launched the "Gorgoroth Trials," an alpha testing campaign for Fukuii, a new high-performance Scala 3 implementation of the ETC protocol, with the goal of these trials being to validate Fukuii's compatibility with existing clients before its mainnet deployment, crucial for the network's technical advancement.
Regional Expansion Strategy
ETC Grants DAO announced a push into Hong Kong, leveraging the city's new Web3 regulations to promote Ethereum Classic's Proof-of-Work model, strategically positioning ETC in a regulatory-friendly Asian hub.
Staking Integration
Toobit added ETC to its Flexible Earning product on November 21, 2025, allowing users to stake ETC with no lock-up period at 0.35% APR, with the pool capping individual deposits at 700 ETC ($8,337 at current prices).
Market Position
Ethereum Classic was highlighted as the largest proof-of-work (PoW) smart contract platform, maintaining 90-95% of the total Ethash/Etchash hashing power, emphasizing its robust security and resistance to censorship compared to proof-of-stake systems.