Longtime Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc has been trying to overhaul Bitcoin’s architecture since 2015, but the broader community hasn’t changed.
So now he proposes a dramatic step called an eCash hard fork, which would involve copying Bitcoin’s code to launch a separate version in August while giving existing Bitcoin holders equivalent tokens for free in the new network.
However, the community is criticizing the financing portion, which involves the redistribution of tokens associated with Bitcoin’s missing founder Satoshi Nakamoto.
What is a hard fork?
Think of a hard fork as a railroad line splitting in two. Trains depart from the same station, but at certain times the lines split, helping the trains reach completely different destinations.
When a group of developers cannot agree on a proposed change to the Bitcoin code, they copy the existing blockchain and launch it as a separate chain that shares Bitcoin’s entire history up to the point of the split, but diverges after the split, moving forward with its own rules, features, tokens, and direction.
This is exactly what happened in 2017, when the debate over Bitcoin block size reached a critical point, ultimately leading to the blockchain split and the creation of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain and its native token, BCH.
The technical dispute centers on Bitcoin’s 1MB block size limit, which limits the number of transactions that can be processed every 10 minutes when new blocks are added to the blockchain. As a result, some favored increasing the block size, but the community remained divided, ultimately leading to a chain split.
Sztorc’s eCash hard fork
The proposed hard fork would create a new chain called eCash using the native eCash token. “Holding 4.19 BTC at the time of the fork would have earned 4.19 eCash. You could sell it, keep it, or ignore it entirely,” he said on X.
The fork is planned for August 2026, with the Bitcoin block height being 964,000. At that time, a currency splitting tool will be released to help holders completely separate BTC from the new eCash.
The new chain will be a near copy of Bitcoin’s existing blockchain, with a key additional feature called Drivechains, an extended architecture first proposed by Sztorc in 2015 and officially submitted to Bitcoin developers in the form of BIP300 and BIP301 in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
The drive chain is a side chain connected to the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing BTC to move seamlessly between the main chain and side chain without changing Bitcoin’s base layer. Each sidechain can operate according to its own rules and functionality, essentially allowing developers to build new features on top of Bitcoin without requiring the entire network to adopt the changes.
Think of the drivetrain as a service road attached to a major highway. When the motorway is congested, drivers can leave the motorway, travel on service roads at different speed limits, and then re-enter the motorway when it is clear. This way the motorway remains unchanged and can handle more traffic more efficiently and everyone’s journey becomes more flexible.
Sztorc said on X that seven driver chains are already under development, including a privacy chain modeled after Zcash, a prediction market called Truthcoin, a decentralized exchange called CoinShift, and a quantum-resistant chain called Photon.
Controversial Parts Related to Satoshi Nakamoto Coin
Sztorc hoped to attract investor participation before the fork went live using tokens that would have gone to Satoshi Nakamoto’s equivalent address on the new eCash chain. He believed the decision was necessary, but the move angered the community, with some calling it outright theft.
A potential hard fork would bring Bitcoin’s entire transaction history onto the new chain. Therefore, every Bitcoin balance, including Satoshi Nakamoto’s 1.1 million Bitcoins, held intact in a wallet that has moved those coins will appear as an equivalent eCash balance on the new chain.
According to the plan, less than half of the Satoshi-equivalent eCash tokens will be distributed to investors today. The specific mechanism is unclear. But since eCash does not yet exist, the pre-hard fork allocation appears to be committed credits following a successful hard fork.
He believes the program will ensure collaborators have a tangible incentive to get involved early, build momentum and complete work before launch. Without this mechanism, the project could become an unfinished “zombie project.” Worse, it could become a centralized project, with a small group of developers gaining huge control over the direction of the chain.
However, the reaction from the industry has been negative.
“Taking Satoshi coins is an act of theft and disrespect, while eCash is already used for lightning payments via Cashu and Fedi. These are poor choices,” said Bitcoin advocate Peter McCormack.
Pixelated Ink CTO Josh Ellithorpe expressed concerns about the precedent it sets and the risk it could ultimately pose to everyone’s BTC holdings.
“eCash set the precedent that they can and will steal tokens. Now it’s Satoshi Nakamoto, but it could be anyone in the future. Also misrepresented the BCH fork, stole another project’s name, and had no replay protection,” Ellithorpe said.
