A long-time Bitcoin developer, Paul Sztorc, has stirred up the crypto community with a controversial proposal. Since 2015, Sztorc has pushed for changes to Bitcoin’s architecture, but the broader community hasn’t been receptive. Now, he’s taking a more dramatic step: a hard fork called eCash, scheduled for August 2026.
What is a Hard Fork?
Think of a hard fork like a railway line splitting into two. Trains start from the same station, but at some point, the line splits, sending trains to completely different destinations. When developers can’t agree on changes to Bitcoin’s code, they copy the existing blockchain and launch a separate chain. This new chain shares Bitcoin’s entire history up to the split but diverges afterward, adopting its own rules, features, and token.
This isn’t without precedent. In 2017, a debate over Bitcoin’s block size limit led to a similar split, creating Bitcoin Cash with its native token, $BCH. The technical dispute centered on Bitcoin’s 1MB block size limit, which caps transactions processed every 10 minutes. Some wanted to increase the block size, but the community remained divided, eventually causing the split.
Sztorc’s eCash Hard Fork
The proposed fork will create a new chain called eCash with native eCash tokens. “Hold 4.19 $BTC at the time of the fork, get 4.19 eCash. You can sell it, keep it, or ignore it entirely,” Sztorc said on social media. The fork is set for Bitcoin block height 964,000 in August 2026. A coin-splitter tool will help holders separate their $BTC from new eCash.
The new chain will be a near-copy of Bitcoin’s blockchain, with one critical addition: Drivechains. These are sidechains tethered to the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing movement of $BTC between the main chain and sidechains without changing Bitcoin’s base layer. Each sidechain can operate under its own rules, letting developers build new capabilities without requiring the entire network to adopt changes. Seven Drivechains are already in development, including a privacy chain modeled on Zcash and a prediction market called Truthcoin.
The Controversy Over Satoshi Coins
The most contentious part of Sztorc’s plan involves coins linked to Bitcoin’s missing founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. A hard fork would bring Bitcoin’s entire transaction history to the new chain, so Satoshi’s 1.1 million bitcoin—sitting untouched in wallets—would show up as an equivalent eCash balance. Sztorc wants to use fewer than half of those Satoshi-equivalent eCash coins to attract investors before the fork goes live. The precise mechanism remains unclear, but it seems to be a promised credit following a successful fork.
Sztorc argues this ensures collaborators have a tangible incentive to get involved early, building momentum and completing work ahead of launch. Without it, he says the project could become a “zombie project” that ships unfinished or a centralized one where a small group gains outsized control. However, the industry response has been negative. Bitcoin advocate Peter McCormack called it “theft and disrespectful.” Josh Ellithorpe, CTO at Pixelated Ink, expressed concerns about the precedent it sets, warning, “Now it’s Satoshi, but it could be anyone later.”
