ECX Fork Set to Launch in October, Bringing New Sidechains and Assets to Bitcoin

The ECX fork is coming to Bitcoin's ledger, created by Paul Sztorc and Layertwo Labs. This new network will copy Bitcoin's transaction history at designated snapshots and distribute a corresponding number of coins on the new chain. For example, if someone holds 1 BTC in their wallet at the snapshot time, they will receive 1 ECX on the new network, while their original BTC stays intact.

The launch is not a hard fork that rewrites Bitcoin itself, but rather a separate network with its own settings, mining difficulty, nodes, and economic activity. Users do not need to participate in the fork, and their BTC will remain unchanged. The new asset, ECX, will be attached to the same wallet addresses at the snapshot time.

The project is led by Paul Sztorc, a longtime Bitcoin developer, and aims to create a separate experiment that can coexist with the main Bitcoin network. ECX plans to launch with seven specialized sidechains, including Thunder for high-throughput payments and Zside for shielded transactions. The mainnet is scheduled for October 31, near Bitcoin block height 973728.

Self-custody holders who control their private keys at each snapshot will be able to access their corresponding ECX directly. However, those keeping BTC on exchanges or other custodians may need to wait for the companies to support the fork and distribute the new asset.