Bitcoin Developer Paul Sztorc Announces eCash Hard Fork With Satoshi's Coins Redistribution

A fresh Bitcoin fork with drivechain support

Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc has announced plans for a hard fork of the Bitcoin network called eCash. The alternative blockchain is scheduled to launch in August 2026. All BTC holders at the time of the snapshot will receive an equivalent amount of eCash coins on a 1:1 basis.

«BREAKING: New Bitcoin Fork. I am helping create a new Bitcoin Hardfork — dropping this August, called "eCash". Your coins will split. For example, if you have 4.19 BTC, then you will get 4.19 eCash. You may sell your eCash — or keep it. Or ignore it!» — Paul Sztorc (@Truthcoin), original post

According to Sztorc, the project is conceived as a "clean" restart of Bitcoin while preserving the network's core architecture. The blockchain runs on a nearly unchanged Bitcoin Core codebase and retains the SHA-256 consensus algorithm. However, mining difficulty will initially be reset to a "minimum value."

Why this matters

The eCash fork is directly tied to the long-running debate over Bitcoin's scalability and the fate of BIP-300 and BIP-301 — proposals authored by Sztorc that describe drivechains, a type of L2 solution for Bitcoin. Despite years of discussion, these proposals never gained broad community support. Launching a separate fork effectively represents an attempt to implement rejected ideas outside the main network.

Sztorc deliberately removed the word "Bitcoin" from the project's name to avoid the trajectory of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which emerged from the 2017 hard fork. In his view, the new blockchain offers a "permanent and sustainable solution to Bitcoin's problems," unlike BCH. He argued that in 2017, BTC's technology stack was strong and expectations for the Lightning Network were high, whereas the situation has now reversed.

Drivechains and L2 infrastructure

The central feature of eCash is built-in drivechain support. Sztorc revealed that seven drivechains are currently under development:

• A privacy-focused chain "in the style of zCash"
• Truthcoin — prediction markets
• CoinShift — decentralized exchange
• BitAssets — NFTs and other digital assets
• BitNames — identity system
• Photon — quantum-resistant solution

Satoshi's coins: the most contentious proposal

The most polarizing element of the announcement involves Sztorc's plan to redistribute a portion (up to half) of approximately 1.1 million BTC held in so-called "Patoshi miner wallets." These coins are widely attributed to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, though their actual owner has never been definitively identified.

The proposal drew sharp criticism. Podcaster Peter McCormack responded forcefully:

«Outside of whatever drama may unfold: 1. Taking Satoshi coins is theft and disrespectful. 2. eCash is already used for Lightning payments with Cashu and Fedi. Those are poor choices.» — Peter McCormack (@PeterMcCormack), original post

McCormack argued that seizing Satoshi's coins amounts to theft and disrespect. He also pointed out the unfortunate naming choice, since the eCash brand is already associated with Lightning payments through the Cashu and Fedi protocols.

Some community members raised a pointed question: what happens if the real owner of the Patoshi wallets eventually surfaces? Sztorc acknowledged the decision is controversial but called it "actually ideal." His rationale is that distributing these coins would attract investors and launch the fork as a "ready-made project" rather than another "zombie chain."

Skeptics were unconvinced. A commenter using the handle PacoVM predicted the project would fully collapse within two to three years and expressed interest in trying drivechains on Bitcoin without resorting to a fork.

The eCash announcement arrives amid another heated debate in the Bitcoin community. Earlier in April, BIP-361 — an initiative from Casa founder Jason Lopp and a group of experts — proposed freezing coins vulnerable to quantum computing attacks, which also sparked significant backlash.