Every once in a while, Ethereum Classic [ETC] registers a large price pump that is usually associated with whale activity. The latest such event occurred on 4 January, when ETC bulls pulled off a surprise attack and pushed the token up by over 20% in one day.

This ETC surge meant that the token had outperformed some of the top cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum [ETH] and Bitcoin [BTC]. A potential reason for this was the pivot in Ethereum Classic’s hash rate. The latter had an undeniable impact on ETC’s price action.

The Ethereum Classic hash rate declined for most of December and pivoted towards the end. It may not have achieved a major recovery, but the minor upside does demonstrate a shift in miner activity. This could be because of higher miner profitability, which would indicate that there is a significant surge in transactions.