eCash (ECX)ECX
Paul Sztorc's 2026 hard fork of Bitcoin that activates drivechains (BIP-300/301) natively. Not XEC.
Vlad has supported drivechains since about 2018 and said on air that not backing the fork would make him a hypocrite. LayerTwo Labs is a show sponsor. Read this article with that disclosure in mind.[7][8]
Announcement
Paul Sztorc announced a hard fork of Bitcoin on Bitcoin Takeover S17 E21 in April 2026, saying he was not sure how far Bitcoin could go "without a new competing coin"[1]. In the same episode he said he picked "a completely different name", eCash, unlike Bitcoin Cash[2].
Three-stage launch
On 8 August 2026 the project switched to a staged launch: an Alpha network forked from Bitcoin block 963,647 on 23 August, a Beta on 19 September, then a permanent mainnet[3][4]. Sztorc explained the change on S17 E37: the software was ready, but people were distracted and the team wanted to let them practise first[5].
Mainnet
Mainnet forked from Bitcoin at block 973,728 on 29 October 2026. The public target had been 31 October, the white paper's 18th anniversary, but the fork was set by height and arrived two days early[3]. Every Bitcoin address at the snapshot is credited 1:1[3]. Cointelegraph reported five sidechains at launch (BitNames, BitAssets, Thunder, Truthcoin, zSide), with Photon and CoinShift to follow[6].
Controversy
The ECX ledger includes 220 hard-coded transactions that reassign part of the Patoshi-pattern coins on the ECX chain only; Bitcoin itself is unchanged[3].
Not XEC
The project's own FAQ says ECX is not XEC, the ticker of Amaury Séchet's eCash[4].
References
- episodeS17 E21: Paul Sztorc announces a hard fork of Bitcoin▶ listen at 1:22timestamp transcript-derived, pending a listen [archived]
- episodeS17 E21: Paul Sztorc — “the name is eCash”▶ listen at 14:13timestamp transcript-derived, pending a listen [archived]
- btkeCash (ECX): Paul Sztorc Forks Bitcoin to Prove a Point (BTCTKVR: Forks!) [archived]
- primaryecash.com FAQ — eCash (ECX), “not XEC” [archived]
- episodeS17 E37: Paul Sztorc on the eCash three-stage launch▶ listen at 1:20timestamp transcript-derived, pending a listen [archived]
- secondaryCointelegraph Magazine, “Bitcoin Holders Have Received eCash — What Can You Do With It?” [archived]
- episodeS17 E37: Vlad on why he backs the drivechain fork (solo outro)▶ listen at 23:54timestamp transcript-derived, pending a listen [archived]
- episodeS17 E19: opening — sponsor read (includes LayerTwo Labs) and Vlad's introduction of Amaury Séchet▶ listen at 1:32timestamp transcript-derived, pending a listen [archived]