Veteran Developer Proposes Bitcoin Hard Fork, Sparking Controversy Over Satoshi Coin Redistribution

A long-time Bitcoin developer, Paul Sztorc, has unveiled a plan to create a separate version of the Bitcoin blockchain, called eCash, through a hard fork scheduled for August 2026. This new chain will be a near-replica of the existing Bitcoin blockchain, with the addition of Drivechains, a scaling solution that enables seamless movement of BTC between the main chain and sidechains. However, the proposed hard fork has sparked controversy within the community due to its funding mechanism, which involves reassigning coins linked to Bitcoin's mysterious founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. The community has criticized this move, with some labeling it as outright theft. Sztorc's plan involves copying Bitcoin's code to launch the eCash chain, giving existing bitcoin holders equivalent tokens in the new network for free. The eCash chain will have its own native tokens and will include Drivechains, which are sidechains tethered to the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing for the development of new capabilities on top of Bitcoin without requiring the entire network to adopt those changes. Seven Drivechains are already in development, including a privacy chain modelled on Zcash and a decentralised exchange called CoinShift. The proposed hard fork has drawn comparisons to the 2017 Bitcoin Cash hard fork, which resulted in the creation of a new blockchain with its native token, BCH. The technical dispute at the time centered on Bitcoin's 1MB block size limit, which capped the number of transactions that could be processed every 10 minutes. Sztorc's proposal has been met with negative responses from the industry, with some expressing concerns over the precedent it sets and the potential risks to everyone's BTC holdings. Bitcoin advocate Peter McCormack has called the plan 'theft and disrespectful', while Josh Ellithorpe, chief technology officer at Pixelated Ink, has raised concerns over the misrepresentation of the BCH fork and the lack of replay protection.