Bitcoin Fork eCash Targets Dormant Coins Worth $40B

A proposed Bitcoin fork called eCash is set to launch in August 2026. Paul Sztorc's project aims to reassign around 500,000 dormant BTC coins linked to Satoshi Nakamoto.

The fork will occur at Bitcoin block 964,000 and will create a new chain that runs on SHA-256d mining. Every Bitcoin holder will receive eCash tokens on a 1:1 basis at the snapshot. The new chain will also activate seven Drivechain sidechains, including Truthcoin for prediction markets and CoinShift as a decentralized exchange.

Sztorc plans to manually reassign fewer than half of the 1.1 million coins tied to the Patoshi pattern, leaving 600,000 untouched on the forked chain. The reassigned coins, worth nearly $40 billion at current prices, would go to early investors before the fork goes live.

However, not everyone is supportive of the plan. Bitcoin advocate Peter McCormack called it 'theft and disrespectful.' Josh Ellithorpe, chief technology officer at Pixelated Ink, warned that this precedent could expand to include other dormant wallets in the future.