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Paul Sztorc, a developer who has long focused on Bitcoin scaling solutions, proposed a Bitcoin hard fork named eCash, set to occur at block height 964,000 in August 2026. Users holding BTC at the time of the fork will receive eCash on a 1:1 basis, and the new chain will introduce the Drivechains sidechain architecture. The controversy mainly centers on the plan to pre-allocate a portion of the eCash corresponding to the Satoshi Nakamoto address on the new chain to early investors, a move that has drawn criticism from the community, with some accusing it of "stealing" tokens. Paul Sztorc stated that this initiative aims to provide incentives for development and collaboration before the project's launch.
Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc has announced the official launch of the Bitcoin hard fork network eCash in August this year. BTC holders will be able to exchange BTC for eCash at a 1:1 ratio after the hard fork goes live. It is reported that the Layer1 node software of the network will be a "near copy" of the Bitcoin Core client, continuing to use the SHA-256 hashing algorithm, with a reduced initial mining difficulty to attract more miners to participate. Additionally, eCash will be equipped with seven Layer2 scaling networks called "drivechains" to increase transaction throughput and support optional on-chain privacy features.Paul Sztorc stated that eCash differs from Bitcoin Cash in 2017, as it will no longer use the "Bitcoin" branding, positioning it as a long-term solution to Bitcoin's scalability and privacy issues. However, his proposal to manually redistribute a portion of Satoshi Nakamoto's approximately 1.1 million BTC to early investors has sparked strong controversy within the community. Some Bitcoin supporters criticize the move as potentially constituting "theft" and undermining Bitcoin's principles. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News The ETH/BTC exchange rate has risen to a 10-week high, with Ethereum outperforming Bitcoin recently. The ratio broke through the resistance of the downtrend line since August 2025 and has risen above the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages. XWIN Research pointed out that the staff statement issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 13 explained that DeFi frontends and wallet interfaces do not need to register as broker-dealers if they meet conditions such as non-custody and a neutral fee structure, which has driven Ethereum's strength.On-chain data shows an upward trend in active addresses, and the Coinbase premium gap is also improving, indicating a recovery in institutional demand in the United States. Enterprise-level accumulation is accelerating; Bitmine accumulated 279,000 ETH in the past 30 days and currently holds 4.87 million ETH, accounting for over 4% of the circulating supply. In the futures market, the global ETH open interest reached $16.37 billion, and the funding rate remains negative, indicating that shorts dominate. However, the open interest on Binance increased by 10.47% to $6.04 billion, and the funding rate turned positive, creating an extreme imbalance between global shorts and longs on Binance.