Bitcoin Developer Paul Sztorc Announces Hard Fork eCash in August

On April 25, Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc announced that a hard fork upgrade named ‘eCash’ will take place in August on the Bitcoin network, aiming to build a new competitive Layer 1 network and seven Layer 2 scaling networks (Drivechains). According to his disclosure, after the fork is completed, BTC holders will be able to exchange their coins for eCash at a 1:1 ratio. The new Layer 1 node software will be ‘almost entirely replicated’ from the Bitcoin Core client and will continue to use the SHA-256 algorithm while lowering the initial mining difficulty to enhance participation. Additionally, eCash will introduce seven Layer 2 scaling networks to improve transaction throughput and support optional on-chain privacy features. Sztorc emphasized that this proposal differs from forks like Bitcoin Cash in 2017 and stated that eCash aims to ‘fix long-standing issues with Bitcoin.’ However, the community has shown a divided reaction to this design. One of the focal points of controversy is the plan to ‘manually redistribute’ a portion of Satoshi Nakamoto’s approximately 1.1 million BTC assets to early participants, which has drawn strong opposition from some Bitcoin supporters who believe this action infringes on the original chain’s assets. This proposal has also garnered attention in the context of the ongoing debate over Bitcoin scaling solutions, particularly surrounding core issues such as privacy features, quantum resistance, and the development path of the Lightning Network.