A brief history
Ethereum Classic came into existence on July 20, 2016, as a continuation of the original Ethereum blockchain following a compromise in the original protocol leading to a fork of the protocol. Ethereum Classic is dedicated to enabling decentralized, immutable, and unstoppable applications. Like the original Ethereum network, the blockchain relies on "proof of work" mining, meaning that users run hardware and software to validate transactions on the network and keep it secure- earning ETC in return. However, Ethereum Classic differs from Ethereum in that the platform does not plan to move away from Proof-of-Work, while Ethereum is trying to make the transition to Proof-of-Stake It should also be noted that the Ethereum Classic ecosystem is not as active as the Ethereum network. These relatively low rates of use have caused problems for the network's security since blockchains rely on having a distributed group of users running the network; when there aren't enough people actively doing so, it leaves the blockchain vulnerable. However, Ethereum Classic has been actively making updates to address this issue in its network.

ETC in practice
ETC or Ether is Ethereum Classic's native token. Ether is created as a reward to network nodes for a process known as mining, which validates computations performed on Ethereum Classic. Those ETC rewards are generated in the form of transaction and network fees, which are charged to users who transact in Ethereum Classic or use the Ethereum Classic blockchain.