Key Takeaways:
- Paul Sztorc introduced eCash, a brand new Bitcoin exhausting fork dropping in August 2026, with a 1:1 BTC coin break up for holders.
- The fork prompts BIP300/301 Drivechains, concentrating on 8 billion customers throughout 7 Layer 2 chains in improvement.
- Sztorc plans to freeze the shopper 30 days earlier than the fork and run bug bounty contests by summer time 2025.
Sztorc Proclaims eCash Onerous Fork 4 Months Out, Units 30-Day Code Freeze Earlier than August Launch
Sztorc broke the information in a submit on X, writing: “BREAKING: New Bitcoin Fork — I’m serving to create a brand new Bitcoin Hardfork — dropping this August, referred to as ‘eCash.’” He confirmed the break up will likely be 1:1, noting {that a} holder with 4.19 BTC will obtain 4.19 eCash. Holders can promote, preserve, or ignore the brand new cash solely.
The venture attracts a direct line from Sztorc’s years of labor on BIP300 and BIP301, the Drivechain proposals which have lengthy divided the Bitcoin improvement group. On the eCash web site at ecash.com, the venture describes itself as a everlasting repair to Bitcoin’s scalability and governance issues, not a stopgap measure.
The layer one (L1) node is described as a near-copy of Bitcoin Core, utilizing SHA-256d mining. The chain will fork by resetting mining problem to its minimal worth, which Sztorc acknowledged will trigger chaotic circumstances at launch. The event workforce plans to vary seed nodes, the community identify, and the community magic whereas persevering with to merge adjustments from Bitcoin Core going ahead.
BIP300 and BIP301 will activate by CUSF, the “core untouched comfortable fork” mechanism, that means no traces of code on the L1 will likely be modified. The activation shopper will likely be revealed periodically and frozen 30 days earlier than the scheduled fork date. A number of bug bounty contests are deliberate for the summer time forward of launch.
The fork will replay all transactions on the time of the break up, and the workforce will launch a coin-splitter device. Sztorc wrote that customers are receiving 4 months of advance discover, contrasting this straight with the 2017 Bitcoin Money exhausting fork the place warnings have been shorter and the method drew important criticism.
Sztorc’s submit listed seven layer two ( L2) chains presently in improvement, all merged-mined, so miners robotically earn extra income. These chains embrace Truthcoin for prediction markets, Coinshift as a decentralized alternate ( DEX), Bitassets for NFTs and comparable devices, Bitnames for identification options, and Photon, which is designed to be quantum-resistant. A privacy-focused L2 modeled after Zcash can be included.
In an interview with Vlad Costea, Sztorc defined that the Drivechain mannequin is particularly designed to stop what he calls “dev seize,” the tendency for a single improvement workforce or set of monetary backers to achieve outsized management over a protocol’s path. Competing L2 chains working beneath the identical merged mining umbrella enable the market to resolve which purposes achieve traction with none single group holding veto energy.
The ecash.com web site states the L2 infrastructure is already able to onboarding 8 billion customers at a planetary scale, a declare the workforce attributes to the merged mining structure and the power for unbiased builders to deploy their very own Drivechain-based sidechains.
Sztorc drew a direct comparability to Bitcoin Money ( BCH) in his announcement, emphasizing that eCash drops the phrase “ Bitcoin” from the identify solely. He argued {that a} clear model separation, together with an extended advance discover window and a everlasting technical repair, distinguishes this fork from prior makes an attempt.
“Again in 2017, the BTC tech stack was sturdy, and expectations for Lightning have been sturdy,” he wrote. “In the present day, it’s the reverse.”
Neighborhood Opinion and Suggestions
Naturally, the crypto group break up alongside acquainted traces when Paul Sztorc launched his proposal to fork the community. One level of competition revolves round his chosen identify, as “eCash” is already related to an altcoin community that emerged from the Bitcoin Money break up through Bitcoin ABC. The eCash blockchain group, led by chief developer Amaury Séchet, has expressed clear dissatisfaction with Sztorc’s determination. Sztorc, nevertheless, responded to the criticism in a submit on X and through a dialog with Joel Valenzuela.
On X, Sztorc argued, “The identify ‘eCash’ is generic. I’m conscious it has been used for a number of issues, together with: – Chaumian eCash , a predecessor thought to Bitcoin from the 80s/90s — later realized together with his firm DigiCash. – The ‘XEC’ Altcoin, which is presently ranked #164. – A personal-but-custodial Bitcoin venture, additionally referred to as ‘cashu.’ We have been in a position to get ecash.com — in addition to a number of different associated domains — so we’re snug with the eCash identify.”
Others took concern with Sztorc’s determination to fork Bitcoin itself. The software program developer generally known as Calle contends that BIP300 drivechains, as proposed by Paul Sztorc, are basically flawed, arguing they grant miners extreme authority and will allow a hashpower majority to misappropriate funds. In a submit on X, Calle maintains the idea has been broadly dismissed by the Bitcoin group, but its creator continues to push ahead, criticize the Lightning Community, and repackage the concept in more and more strained methods.
“The one answer left is to create a sh**coin for his sh***y thought,” Calle claimed.
Writer and Bitcoin advocate, Steve Patterson, expressed optimism. “There are solely a pair severe choices for scaling Bitcoin: huge blocks (as Satoshi supposed), or actual sidechains,” Patterson wrote on X. “So naturally, Core prevented each from being adopted. Large blockers forked off years in the past, and now [Paul Sztorc] is lastly forking off to implement sidechains.”
A Grok-powered sentiment scan of Sztorc’s submit on X confirmed replies leaning sharply towards the venture. From roughly 50 to 60 top-level responses inside a complete of 347, about 80% to 85% have been destructive, Grok reported. Critics pointed to confusion with the present eCash token, a fork of Bitcoin Money, and objected to a proposed partial reallocation of Satoshi-era cash, which some framed as “stealing” dormant funds.
A smaller however vocal section rejected the hassle outright as a rip-off or developer self-interest. About 10% to fifteen% expressed help, citing the potential coin distribution for Bitcoin holders, curiosity within the Drivechain idea, or Sztorc’s measured tone. The remaining raised technical questions or responded with sarcasm relatively than partaking straight.
A Stress Take a look at Is Coming in 118 Days
The announcement alerts a coming stress take a look at for the bitcoin mining group, because the problem reset at fork time will briefly make eCash far simpler to mine than Bitcoin. Miners able to shifting hashrate shortly will doubtless accumulate a big share of early block rewards earlier than problem adjusts.
Sztorc confirmed he’ll attend a Bitcoin convention in Las Vegas the week of the announcement, however mentioned he wouldn’t talk about the fork onstage, calling it impolite to make that form of announcement in that setting.
The activation shopper hyperlink has been revealed for builders and node operators who wish to start testing forward of the summer time bug bounty program and the 30-day code freeze that can precede the August launch.
