Paul Sztorc plans a 2026 BTC hard fork called eCash — 1:1 airdrop, Drivechain sidechains, and a Satoshi allocation controversy.

LayerTwo Labs CEO Paul Sztorc announced on April 24 a planned August 2026 Bitcoin hard fork targeting block 964,000. The new chain, called eCash, would copy Bitcoin&#x27;s history at the split height and credit holders with 1 eCash per 1 <a class="ticker-mention" href="/en-US/token/btc">BTC</a>. The base layer is described as a near-copy of Bitcoin Core, mined with SHA-256d, and would activate BIP300 and BIP301 to enable Drivechain-style sidechains from day one.

The core reassurance Sztorc has repeated is that BTC balances are untouched — moving BTC always requires Bitcoin software and the relevant private key. Holders can ignore the fork entirely and retain the same BTC. The practical risk is operational: whether exchanges, wallets, custodians, and tax records will need to process eCash as a supported asset remains unresolved.

The sharpest controversy surrounds the Satoshi allocation. Sztorc&#x27;s latest clarification reduced the planned gift to…