Developers plan to fork Bitcoin eCash, reallocation of Satoshi's tokens sparks controversy

According to CoinDesk, Paul Sztorc, a developer who has long focused on Bitcoin scaling solutions, proposed a Bitcoin hard fork named eCash to be initiated in August 2026 at block height 964,000, distributing eCash to users holding BTC at a 1:1 ratio at the time of the fork, and introducing a Drivechains sidechain architecture in the new chain.

The controversy mainly revolves around the plan to pre-allocate a portion of eCash corresponding to Satoshi Nakamoto's address on the new chain to early investors, a move that has drawn criticism from the community, with some individuals claiming it involves "stealing" tokens. Paul Sztorc stated that this move aims to provide incentives for development and collaboration before the project's launch.