#bitcoinplansecashhardfork #
The basics
What: New Bitcoin hard fork called eCash
When: Targeting August 2026 at Bitcoin block 964,000
Who: Paul Sztorc, CEO of LayerTwo Labs, long-time Bitcoin dev and Drivechains architect
How it works: 1:1 copy of Bitcoin ledger. If you hold 1 BTC at the split, you get 1 eCash. BTC itself stays untouched — you still need BTC keys to move BTC f0319bdffe0e
What’s new in eCash
Drivechains: Adds BIP300/BIP301 sidechains for smart contracts, privacy, DEXs, NFTs, prediction markets, quantum-resistant chain. Goal: let the market decide which L2s win instead of "dev capture"
Near-copy of Bitcoin Core: Same SHA-256 mining, one-time difficulty reset to help early miners
7 L2s planned: Truthcoin, Coinshift DEX, Bitassets NFTs, Bitnames, Photon quantum-resistant, Zcash-style privacy, etc c06c69e955c58ba0
The controversy
The funding model is what sparked backlash:
Satoshi coins: ∼1.1M BTC in Patoshi addresses. On eCash, Sztorc proposes gifting 600,000 eCash to those addresses and redirecting 500,000 eCash to early investors who fund the project
Sztorc’s defense: “We do not take any of Satoshi’s BTC” — BTC is untouched. Critics call it theft of Bitcoin’s distribution
Naming confusion: Lightning Network already has a privacy feature called "ecash" f031c06c
Why this is different from BCH 2017
Scale: 2017 BCH split was mostly retail. This one hits after spot ETFs, public companies, and MSTR holding 818K BTC. Coinbase + Fidelity custody most ETF BTC
Notice: 4 months advance warning vs short notice in 2017
Institutional stress test: Exchanges, custodians, SEC now have to decide if they support it 69e955c5
Status
As of April 2026: proposal announced, code freeze ∼1 month before launch. Still lacks support from major miners, exchanges, custodians. 9a317820
Bottom line: Not a Bitcoin Cash-style blocksize fight. This is a Drivechain experiment that copies BTC balances but tries to fund development by reallocating a portion of "Satoshi eCash". Your BTC won’t move, but you’d have to decide if you claim/sell the new eCash.
The basics
What: New Bitcoin hard fork called eCash
When: Targeting August 2026 at Bitcoin block 964,000
Who: Paul Sztorc, CEO of LayerTwo Labs, long-time Bitcoin dev and Drivechains architect
How it works: 1:1 copy of Bitcoin ledger. If you hold 1 BTC at the split, you get 1 eCash. BTC itself stays untouched — you still need BTC keys to move BTC f0319bdffe0e
What’s new in eCash
Drivechains: Adds BIP300/BIP301 sidechains for smart contracts, privacy, DEXs, NFTs, prediction markets, quantum-resistant chain. Goal: let the market decide which L2s win instead of "dev capture"
Near-copy of Bitcoin Core: Same SHA-256 mining, one-time difficulty reset to help early miners
7 L2s planned: Truthcoin, Coinshift DEX, Bitassets NFTs, Bitnames, Photon quantum-resistant, Zcash-style privacy, etc c06c69e955c58ba0
The controversy
The funding model is what sparked backlash:
Satoshi coins: ∼1.1M BTC in Patoshi addresses. On eCash, Sztorc proposes gifting 600,000 eCash to those addresses and redirecting 500,000 eCash to early investors who fund the project
Sztorc’s defense: “We do not take any of Satoshi’s BTC” — BTC is untouched. Critics call it theft of Bitcoin’s distribution
Naming confusion: Lightning Network already has a privacy feature called "ecash" f031c06c
Why this is different from BCH 2017
Scale: 2017 BCH split was mostly retail. This one hits after spot ETFs, public companies, and MSTR holding 818K BTC. Coinbase + Fidelity custody most ETF BTC
Notice: 4 months advance warning vs short notice in 2017
Institutional stress test: Exchanges, custodians, SEC now have to decide if they support it 69e955c5
Status
As of April 2026: proposal announced, code freeze ∼1 month before launch. Still lacks support from major miners, exchanges, custodians. 9a317820
Bottom line: Not a Bitcoin Cash-style blocksize fight. This is a Drivechain experiment that copies BTC balances but tries to fund development by reallocating a portion of "Satoshi eCash". Your BTC won’t move, but you’d have to decide if you claim/sell the new eCash.