Ethereum classic has removed its so-called "difficulty bomb."

Designed to increase the difficulty of mining its blockchain over time, the code was a feature of the original ethereum codebase (which later split into ethereum classic and ethereum) in 2016. The successful network upgrade took place at block 5,900,000, according to available network data and statements from developers involved in the project.

While it is difficult to account for exact percentages in terms of how many nodes updated their software (owing to a lack of available tools), developers involved with the project told CoinDesk that most exchange nodes and mining pools reported updating their software well before the fork.

There was no indication of any ill effects or bugs in the hours immediately after the fork. The upgrade is expected to reduce the amount of time it takes to create a block.

As such, the upgrade puts both technical and ideological distance between the ethereum classic and ethereum blockchains.

While the ethereum community remains committed to transitioning to a proof-of-stake consensus system, the ethereum classic community has elected to continue using proof-of-work, as its members contend that, of the various ways to achieve consensus over block validation, it resists centralization best.

More specifically, advocates argue that proof-of-work systems require their validators (miners) to continuously invest in hardware and therefore in the blockchain.

Deliberation on the fork started as early as 2016, and due to the extensive discussions, the upgrade was not expected to be controversial or complicated.

Smoking match image via Shutterstock