ConsenSys Developer Joins Ethereum Classic Cooperative as Executive Director

Bob Summerwill, a developer at blockchain tech company ConsenSys, has joined the Ethereum Classic Cooperative as its executive director, according to an official announcement on Jan. 29.

The Ethereum Classic Cooperative manages the development and growth of the Ethereum Classic (ETC) cryptocurrency’s protocol. Ethereum Classic is the result of a hard fork in 2016, arising out of differences into how to respond to the high-profile DAO hack of the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.

Per the announcement, Summerwill will develop relationships that help the mission of the organization and grow ETC’s development and community. Summerwill will also support ongoing ETC initiatives such as peaceBridge, a bridge that transfers ETH and ETC between two networks; and Kotti, an upcoming proof-of-authority testnet. Summerwill himself said:

“I would like to heal the wounds of the past, and to help everyone get past this zero sum thinking. I would like the ETC community to be seen as it actually is, a strongly principled group of people who develop useful technology, rather than an ideologically driven group of zealots with no technical development.”

Earlier this month, Ethereum Classic developers said that a mining pool claiming over 50 percent of the network’s hashrate was “most likely selfish mining.” The devs explicitly stated that the previously noted hashrate consolidation was not a 51 percent attack, and that purported double spends were not detected.

American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase had published a blog post stating that it “detected a deep chain reorganization of the Ethereum Classic blockchain that included a double spend” on Jan. 5. Coinbase temporarily halted deposits and withdrawals of ETC.

Ethereum Classic is currently the 17th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, according to data from CoinMarketCap. At press time, ETC is trading at $4.03, up 2.76 percent on the day.