Bitcoin Community Condemns Proposed eCash Hard Fork as 'Theft' Amid Satoshi Coin Reassignment Plan

Veteran Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc has unveiled a contentious plan to create a separate version of the Bitcoin blockchain, dubbed eCash, which would involve copying the existing code and launching a new network in August 2026. As part of this proposal, existing bitcoin holders would receive equivalent tokens on the new network at no cost. However, the community is up in arms over the funding aspect, which involves reassigning coins linked to Bitcoin's elusive founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. A hard fork can be likened to a railway line splitting into two, where trains start from the same station but eventually reach different destinations. When developers cannot agree on a proposed change to Bitcoin's code, they create a copy of the blockchain and launch it as a separate chain, sharing Bitcoin's history up to the point of the split but diverging thereafter with its own rules, features, and direction. Sztorc's proposed hard fork, scheduled for Bitcoin block height 964,000 in August 2026, will introduce a new chain called eCash, complete with native eCash tokens. Holders of 4.19 BTC at the time of the fork will receive 4.19 eCash, which they can sell, keep, or ignore. A key addition to the new chain will be Drivechains, a scaling architecture that Sztorc first proposed in 2015. Drivechains are sidechains tethered to the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing seamless movement of BTC between the main chain and sidechains without altering Bitcoin's base layer. Each sidechain can operate under its own rules and features, enabling developers to build 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 quantum-resistant chain called Photon. The plan to use coins that would have gone to Satoshi Nakamoto's equivalent addresses on the new eCash chain to attract investors before the fork has sparked controversy, with many calling it outright theft. The proposed hard fork would bring Bitcoin's entire transaction history to the new chain, resulting in every bitcoin balance, including Satoshi's 1.1 million bitcoin, showing up as an equivalent eCash balance on the new chain. Sztorc argues that assigning fewer than half of the Satoshi-equivalent eCash coins to investors will provide a tangible incentive for collaborators to get involved early, building momentum and completing work ahead of launch. However, the industry response has been overwhelmingly negative, with many expressing concerns about the precedent it sets and the potential risks to everyone's BTC holdings.