ECX Crypto Fork Gives Bitcoin Holders Matching Balances - Bitcoin Foundation
LayerTwo Labs launched the eCash Bitcoin fork on October 29, giving holders who controlled their BTC private keys at block 973,728 an equal balance of the new network’s native ECX token.
The allocation used Bitcoin block 973,728 as a snapshot. Holders controlling their BTC private keys at that point received a matching number of native ECX coins on the new eCash network.
The launch comes from LayerTwo Labs, led by Paul Sztorc, who has advocated for Bitcoin Drivechain proposals for over a decade. The team describes eCash as activating BIP300 and BIP301, which allow competing sidechains to operate under their own rules.
The project states that eCash has no premine or developer fund. It also describes a tenfold reduction in base-layer block size and blind merged mining that lets miners collect sidechain fees.
He describes Bitcoin’s conservative development approach as an obstacle to greater network use. The fork gives his team a separate network on which to pursue applications and sidechains instead of waiting for Bitcoin to adopt those changes.
Sidechains and Applications
Five sidechains launched alongside eCash’s mainnet: BitNames, BitAssets, Thunder, Truthcoin and zSide. These form the initial set of applications around the new mainchain, covering areas like payments, privacy, digital assets and prediction markets.
Two further projects are planned: Photon, described as quantum-resistant, and CoinShift, a decentralized exchange. These remain additions to come rather than part of the initial five-sidechain launch.
Sztorc identifies paying customers and transaction-fee revenue as the main first-year measures of success. That puts the commercial test on applications people choose to use and pay for, rather than the number of Bitcoin holders receiving copied balances.
LayerTwo Labs says early ECX trading ranged between $40 and $50. That is the company’s description of early activity, not a current November 7 quote or a verified all-time high.
Native vs. Wrapped ECX
Native ECX belongs to the eCash network, while wrapped ECX, or wECX, trades on Solana. The project describes wECX as a token received on Solana and kept in a Solana wallet, giving users a different route to ECX exposure.
Orca offers a liquidity pool for swapping USDC into wrapped ECX on Solana. Separately, the eCash website offers USDC-to-wECX access through SideShift. These are distinct access routes from the mainchain.
A buyer therefore needs to identify both the asset and its receiving network before comparing quotes. Searching the ECX ticker alone can also surface a separate Solana listing, which may not be connected to the native fork.
Access and Risks
Eligible self-custody holders need an eCash-compatible wallet and the project’s coin-separation process. The website links to wallet downloads, a coin-splitting section, a dashboard and a block explorer.
Those published instructions matter because eCash and Bitcoin share transaction history. LayerTwo Labs says replay controls are built into the protocol, but still instructs holders to separate ECX before spending the corresponding BTC.
Never move your BTC first, explaining that an ordinary, unprotected Bitcoin spend can also be replayed on eCash.
An unprotected transaction on one network can be replayed on the other. The company’s operational advice is to move ECX first. Holders should follow its published wallet and splitting procedure rather than improvise transaction steps.
People who kept BTC on a centralized exchange depend on that custodian’s fork policy. Control of a Bitcoin account balance at an exchange is different from personally controlling the private keys used for the allocation.
Exchange customers should check the platform’s own support and distribution announcements. Forks can also create tax implications depending on the holder’s country, making local tax treatment another consideration before accessing or selling ECX.
Trading and Outlook
NeoxEX opened native ECX deposits, withdrawals and trading on October 29. Its announced markets were ECX/USDT, ECX/USDC and ECX/BTC. CoinW announced plans to distribute ECX to eligible Bitcoin holders, with deposits, withdrawals and trading to be announced later.
CoinW’s pending access announcements, further exchange markets and the planned Photon and CoinShift sidechains are concrete developments to watch. Each would expand a different part of the ecosystem: custody access, trading or applications.
A usable sale price depends on the venue, the asset being delivered and the actual quote for the order. The eCash website labels its purchase estimate indicative and says it excludes fees and price impact.
Useful sidechain applications and additional exchange access could give holders more reasons to use ECX. Sztorc says the team is adding exchanges and trading pairs, while focusing its first-year assessment on paying users and fee revenue.
The opposite pressure comes from difficult coin separation, custodial distribution delays and weak application demand. A copied balance provides an allocation; developers still have to build services that attract users willing to transact.
CoinW’s pending access announcements, further exchange markets and the planned Photon and CoinShift sidechains are concrete developments to watch. Each would expand a different part of the ecosystem: custody access, trading or applications.
The longer-term test remains Sztorc’s stated focus on paying customers and transaction fees. ECX’s prospects depend on whether the separate network turns its launch applications into sustained use, alongside safe access for existing holders.
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