Sustainable Sovereignty for Ethereum Classic
A protocol-native, non-inflationary treasury funded by redirected BASEFEE revenue enables open and decentralized support for client maintenance, public goods, and long-term network security — without altering Ethereum Classic's monetary policy, miner rewards, or governance rules. Olympia, defined through ECIPs 1111-1115, introduces a modern EIP-1559-style transaction type alongside ETC's existing formats. Use of this new transaction type is voluntary: all legacy transactions and contracts continue functioning exactly as they do today. The full BASEFEE component is redirected into an immutable, transparent treasury, creating a sustainable on-chain funding layer for the ecosystem while all protocol upgrades continue to follow Ethereum Classic's established ECIP governance process.
This funding layer addresses long-standing challenges stemming from Ethereum Classic's historical reliance on centralized entities, volunteer labor, and sporadic donations. Olympia transitions ETC from these fragile dependencies to a self-sustaining, sovereign chain that is no longer reliant on any single organization or team. By decentralizing critical development funding, Olympia broadens participation to the global EVM developer ecosystem, reducing concentration risks and mitigating the centralizing effects of the prior donor-and-sponsor model, where control over core development often followed whoever was willing to pay for it.
Olympia strengthens Ethereum Classic's commitment to credible neutrality by ensuring the network remains resilient against corporate capture, stagnation, and operational decay — enabling ETC to grow as a truly decentralized, self-funded Proof-of-Work blockchain.
Explore the UpgradeOlympia Overview
Why ETC Needed a Funding Layer
For most of its history, Ethereum Classic relied on external sponsors, donor-driven initiatives, and volunteer labor to support core development and infrastructure — a fragile and inconsistent funding model for a global blockchain. The Olympia Upgrade introduces a protocol-native, transparent, non-inflationary funding layer by adding BASEFEE via ECIP-1111 and redirecting that revenue into the immutable Treasury defined in ECIP-1112.
Why ETC Is Uniquely Positioned
As the only major Proof-of-Work blockchain with native smart contracts, Ethereum Classic is uniquely positioned to deploy a sustainable, on-chain treasury and governance model. While other PoW networks depend on centralized committees, informal volunteerism, or off-chain grants, ETC can leverage the full expressiveness of the EVM — including DAO governance, transparent proposal workflows, cryptographic metadata binding, and battle-tested public-goods funding mechanisms pioneered across the broader Ethereum ecosystem.
How Olympia Works at a High Level
Olympia brings these capabilities to a PoW environment in a way no other chain can: a decentralized, programmable, and auditable funding system for core protocol work. Its architecture draws on best practices in open governance, audited smart contracts, and empirical evidence accumulated over nearly a decade of EVM-based DAO evolution — while preserving ETC's fixed monetary policy, Proof-of-Work consensus, and ECIP upgrade process. Olympia introduces no inflation, no new token, and retains a governance model that is open, sybil-resistant, and accountable to the ecosystem.
What Olympia Makes Possible
Instead of altering ETC's monetary policy or block rewards, Olympia redirects value that would be burned on other EVM chains into a shared on-chain public-goods treasury governed through a modular DAO framework and a standardized funding proposal process. Olympia advances the community's original 2016 commitment — expressed in the Ethereum Classic Declaration of Independence — that the chain remain sovereign, censorship-resistant, and free from third-party control. With EVM compatibility enabling modern governance tooling and DAO workflows, Ethereum Classic can now stand on its own — transparently funded, independent by design, and resilient against corporate capture or governance shortcuts.
The Olympia ECIP Suite
Consensus Layer
ECIP-1111: EVM & Fee Market Upgrades
Activates EIP-1559-style fee mechanics and introduces the BASEFEE opcode (EIP-3198),
improving EVM compatibility and fee predictability. On Ethereum Classic, the BASEFEE
is not burned; instead, 100% is redirected at the consensus layer to the Olympia
Treasury (ECIP-1112), while miner tips and block rewards remain unchanged.
Contract Layer
ECIP-1112: Olympia Treasury Contract
Defines a deterministic, immutable smart contract that receives all redirected BASEFEE. The Treasury is governance-isolated and cannot be upgraded, modified, or accessed directly. Funds may only be released through the single authorized executor defined in ECIP-1113, using the hash-bound withdrawal semantics specified in ECIP-1114.
ECIP-1113: Olympia DAO Governance Framework
Establishes Olympia DAO — a modular on-chain governance framework built around a Governor, Timelock, and Executor architecture that serves as the sole authorized path to the Treasury. ECIP-1113 defines the governance-execution pipeline but does not prescribe a voting module; voting systems evolve through the OIP process without modifying consensus.
ECIP-1114: Funding Proposal Process (ECFP)
Defines the Ethereum Classic Funding Proposal (ECFP) process — the exclusive, permissionless, hash-bound standard for Olympia Treasury spending. Each disbursement is tied to immutable, content-addressed metadata and follows a transparent lifecycle using deterministic replay-proof execution rules.
ECIP-1115: Olympia L-Curve Smoothing (Optional)
Defines an optional governance-layer mechanism for smoothing Treasury-held BASEFEE over time using a deterministic L-curve. Smoothing adjusts only payout timing — not amounts — and requires explicit activation through the OIP process. All logic lives entirely at the contract layer.
Together, these ECIPs form the Olympia framework — a modular, upgrade-friendly funding layer that gives Ethereum Classic a reliable, transparent, and decentralized mechanism to sustain clients and public goods. Only minimal consensus changes are required (ECIP-1111), while all governance, proposal processing, and allocation logic operate in the contract layer where they can evolve safely over time. This architecture preserves Ethereum Classic's foundational guarantees — immutability, permissionlessness, censorship resistance, Proof-of-Work security, and decentralized governance — while enabling long-term, sustainable ecosystem development.
Olympia Core Components
Olympia Treasury
(ECIP-1112)
The Olympia Treasury is a deterministic, immutable smart contract that receives all BASEFEE redirected from EIP-1559-style transactions on Ethereum Classic. It cannot be upgraded or modified, has no admin keys, and does not mint ETC.
All inflows and outflows are visible on-chain, and withdrawals may occur only through the Governor → Timelock → Executor pathway defined in ECIP-1113, using the hash-bound validation rules specified in ECIP-1114.
Learn About the Treasury Governance & Funding
(ECIP-1113 &
1114)
Olympia DAO governance is built around a modular Governor, Timelock, and Executor that together form the sole authorized path to the Treasury. ECIP-1113 defines this execution pipeline and how decisions move from proposal to time-locked execution.
ECIP-1114 establishes the Ethereum Classic Funding Proposal (ECFP) standard — a hash-bound, permissionless format for Treasury spending. Each proposal ties immutable metadata to a deterministic on-chain action, enabling transparent, replay-proof withdrawals.
Explore Governance Design Fees & Miner Incentives
(ECIP-1111 &
1115)
ECIP-1111 introduces EIP-1559-style fee mechanics and the BASEFEE opcode on Ethereum Classic,
improving interoperability with modern wallets and EVM tooling while redirecting BASEFEE to the Treasury
instead of burning it. Miner priority fees and block rewards remain unchanged.
ECIP-1115 adds an optional governance-layer smoothing mechanism that applies a deterministic L-curve to Treasury-held BASEFEE, shaping the timing of governance-approved payouts — all at the contract layer, with no changes to consensus rules.
View Fee MechanicsAbout Ethereum Classic & the Olympia Upgrade
Ethereum Classic is the original Ethereum chain, rooted in the Code is Law philosophy, Proof-of-Work security, and a long-standing commitment to immutability, neutrality, and open participation. Throughout its history, ETC has chosen to preserve chain integrity and resist governance shortcuts — even when that meant fewer resources or slower development — in order to uphold its foundational principles.
Olympia builds on these principles rather than altering them. It introduces a transparent, on-chain funding layer for client maintenance, public goods, and ecosystem growth, all while preserving ETC’s fixed monetary policy, Proof-of-Work consensus, and the ECIP upgrade process. Olympia does not rewrite history, add inflation, or shift protocol governance into a token-voting model. Instead, it provides the sustainable, decentralized funding infrastructure needed for Ethereum Classic to remain a secure, credible, and independent Proof-of-Work smart contract platform.
This site presents a high-level overview of the Olympia framework. The full, canonical specifications are published in the official Ethereum Classic ECIP repository and serve as the authoritative reference for implementers, auditors, and ecosystem builders.
Explore Olympia in Depth
Dive deeper into each component of the Olympia Upgrade — from fee mechanics and the immutable Treasury to governance, client implementation, and Ethereum Classic’s long-term roadmap.
Upgrade Overview
A complete narrative walkthrough of ECIPs 1111–1115 and how they work together to form Ethereum Classic’s protocol-native funding layer.
View OverviewFees & Miner Incentives
Learn how ECIP-1111 introduces BASEFEE via EIP-1559 mechanics and how ECIP-1115 optionally smooths miner revenue using a deterministic L-curve.
Explore FeesTreasury Contract
The ECIP-1112 immutable Treasury — a deterministic, governance-isolated vault receiving all BASEFEE redirected by the protocol.
View TreasuryGovernance & ECFPs
ECIP-1113 and ECIP-1114 define the governance architecture and the Ethereum Classic Funding Proposal (ECFP) standard for transparent, on-chain funding.
View GovernanceImpact & Ecosystem Benefits
How Olympia strengthens ETC’s sovereignty, decentralizes funding, and enables long-term ecosystem growth.
View ImpactRoadmap & Milestones
Follow Olympia’s progress from research and ECIP drafting through client implementation, testnets, community review, and potential mainnet activation.
View RoadmapLong-Term Vision
A forward-looking view of Ethereum Classic as a sovereign, self-funded Proof-of-Work smart contract platform.
Read VisionFukuii Client
Learn about Fukuii — the modern Scala-based ETC client implementing Olympia’s consensus-layer changes and restoring a native, independent execution path for Ethereum Classic.
Explore Fukuii