Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc introduced on Friday {that a} new onerous fork of the Bitcoin community referred to as eCash will deploy in August, drawing swift and divided reactions from the Bitcoin neighborhood.
What eCash would appear to be
Sztorc stated in an X publish that Bitcoin holders will be capable to trade their BTC for eCash at a 1:1 ratio as soon as the fork goes reside.
The layer-1 node software program can be a near-copy of the Bitcoin Core consumer and can use the identical SHA-256 hashing algorithm as Bitcoin, however with a lowered preliminary mining problem to make block manufacturing extra accessible.
The brand new chain can even embrace seven layer-2 scaling networks referred to as “drivechains,” designed to extend transaction throughput and provide non-obligatory on-chain privateness.
Sztorc distanced eCash from prior onerous fork makes an attempt, together with Bitcoin Money, which launched in 2017 however by no means displaced the primary chain.
He said:
“In contrast to BCH, the 2017 fork, there isn’t any ‘Bitcoin’ within the title. This can be a everlasting and sustainable repair to Bitcoin’s issues.”
Satoshi cash and neighborhood backlash
One of many extra contentious parts of the announcement was Sztorc’s plan to “manually” reassign a portion of Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1.1 million BTC to early buyers.
Bitcoin advocate Peter McCormack pushed again sharply, saying:
“Taking Satoshi cash is theft and disrespectful, and eCash is already used for Lightning funds with Cashu and Fedi. These are poor selections.”
One other Bitcoin advocate, PakoVM, was equally dismissive:
“I offer you two or three years to fold fully.”
The broader context
The announcement arrives amid a rising debate over Bitcoin’s technical roadmap, together with whether or not the protocol ought to add privacy-preserving options and post-quantum resistance.
Sztorc argued that sentiment round Bitcoin’s current scaling answer has shifted, saying:
“Again in 2017, the Bitcoin tech stack was robust, and expectations for Lightning had been robust. At the moment, it’s the reverse.”
The Bitcoin Lightning Community is a layer-2 answer that enables transactions to settle in seconds fairly than ready for the roughly 10-minute Bitcoin block time.