Bitcoin developer and head of LayerTwo Labs, Paul Stortz, has unveiled a plan to launch eCash — a new hard fork of Bitcoin set to drop in August 2026. BTC holders will receive coins from the new network at a 1:1 ratio. However, the real debate isn't about the fork itself but the decision to redistribute a portion of eCash tied to Satoshi Nakamoto's addresses.
According to Shortz, BTC in the main network will remain untouched. The discussion is only about coins in the new eCash chain. But critics believe that even such a decision creates a dangerous precedent and violates the basic logic of ownership immutability.
eCash wants to become the new Bitcoin fork.
Shortz stated that eCash will be almost a copy of Bitcoin Core at the L1 level. The network will utilize SHA-256d mining and a one-time difficulty reset at launch. Bitcoin holders will be able to receive the same amount of eCash, and then either sell, hold, or simply ignore the new coins.
The project also plans to incorporate proposals BIP300 and BIP301 related to drivechains. Several additional layers are already in development, including solutions for prediction markets, decentralized trading, identification, NFTs, and quantum resistance.
The main dispute revolves around Satoshi's coins.
The most controversial part of the plan concerns coins typically associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. Estimates suggest that around 1.1 million BTC may be in the so-called patoshi pattern. Shortz proposed manually reallocating some corresponding eCash in the new network, directing around 600,000 coins to investors.
It is this idea that sparked a sharp reaction. Critics argue that you can't change the balance of addresses, even when it comes to coins of a new fork. For them, the very logic of intervening in distribution seems like a violation of property principles.
Shortz insists that BTC remains untouched.
The developer emphasized that eCash cannot touch actual bitcoins. To move BTC, you need keys from Bitcoin addresses and interaction with the main network, and the eCash team has neither. According to him, new coins are created in a new network, not extracted from Bitcoin assets.
This is a legally and technically significant distinction. But in the community, the debate is not just about the technical side. For many participants, the question appears philosophical: does the new chain have the right to rewrite ownership history, even if it doesn’t affect the original Bitcoin?
Critics call this a dangerous precedent.
Some market participants are already calling for caution regarding the future eCash coins. The most vocal commentators label the idea as 'theft' and believe that reallocating Satoshi's addresses undermines trust in the project even before launch.
The main argument against is simple. If developers can manually decide that part of the coins in the new network should be allocated to other participants, then the principle of balance immutability no longer applies. And for Bitcoin culture, this is almost a red line.
The Satoshi question remains a sore point for the market.
Satoshi-related coins have long been a topic of contention. Some believe they should remain untouched because they are part of Bitcoin's history. Others allow for intervention in extreme cases, such as a future quantum threat.
But the eCash plan differs from theoretical discussions about security. This is not about protecting the network, but about distributing coins of the new fork among investors. That's why the reaction has been so sharp.
eCash is trying to differentiate itself from Bitcoin Cash.
Shortz positions eCash as a deeper fork than Bitcoin Cash in 2017. While BCH focused on block size, eCash aims to include drivechains and create a broader ecosystem of applications around Bitcoin-like L1.
This is an ambitious claim. But the debate over Satoshi's coins may overshadow the technical aspects of the project. For Bitcoin forks, community trust often outweighs the feature set.
What's next?
The launch of eCash is scheduled for August 2026, and until then, discussions are likely to intensify. The team will have to explain why reallocating part of the 'Satoshi coins' in the new network doesn’t undermine the project’s stated idea. Without this, eCash risks facing distrust even before its launch.
For now, the main takeaway is: technically BTC is untouched, but the reputational risk has already emerged. For the Bitcoin community, the question of ownership is more important than distribution convenience, and this may become the main obstacle for eCash.
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