Bitcoin holders face uncertain risks as eCash first-stage test chain launches ahead of October Mainnet deadline
Bitcoin holders face unresolved fork risks as new eCash test chain launches ahead of October deadline
An eCash fork creating a separate ECX asset for Bitcoin holders triggered Alpha-chain blocks starting at height 963,648 on August 23. However, this permanent fork was canceled: the project now schedules the 1:1 ECX allocation for the Bitcoin Mainnet launch near block 973,728 on October 31.
August 23 served as a practice run for participants rather than a definitive allocation event. Bitcoin ownership remains unchanged, practice pECX lacks permanence, and public exchange alerts showed no widespread Bitcoin service freezes.
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What the Alpha chain proved
The eCash Alpha explorer displayed a block at height 963,648 and chain progression through 963,650. It identified a stale competing block at the initial height, confirming a nascent rehearsal network rather than a stable production chain.
Bitcoin’s record remained independent. Mempool.space processed Bitcoin block 963,648 with hash 00000000000000000001769d9a327f5b455aa8a2dd407b1b63040d2a9f832d32 and timestamp 2026-08-23 01:48:47. These records confirm an Alpha chain operating alongside Bitcoin, not as a replacement.
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What remains before the eCash fork
The revised schedule includes three phases: Alpha around height 963,648 on August 23, Beta near 967,680 on September 20 and permanent Mainnet at least 973,728 on October 31. Alpha and Beta generate practice pECX instead of the definitive 1:1 Bitcoin-derived ECX.
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The initiative claims practice units can later be burned for real ECX at Mainnet. Founder Paul Sztorc noted 1,000 pECX might exchange for 10 ECX. Evidence does not confirm Alpha transaction histories or balances transition to Beta or Mainnet, making pECX non-permanent.
Production handoff processes remain incomplete. The integration guide last revised August 11 pre-launch still references 963,648 as the fork point and lists key values as drynet4 parameters. The final fork hash, software branch or tag and replay scheme will be announced later.
Current coin-splitting protocols use an opt-in nLockTime of 499999999 for ECX transactions but advise integrators to confirm the final scheme pre-launch.
Pre-Alpha notifications typically maintained Bitcoin services while planning later risk-based adjustments. GMO Coin will exclude handling pECX or ECX during Alpha and Beta, while Coincheck, SBI VC Trade and Zaif kept future ECX crediting, listing or handling undecided.
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Their approaches to new assets differed. GMO excluded handling pECX or ECX during Alpha and Beta, while Coincheck, SBI and Zaif left future ECX crediting, listing or handling undecided.
The eCash fork’s August 23 Alpha stage had minimal direct impact on Bitcoin ownership but offered an actionable test window. For miners, wallets and exchanges, the critical deadline remains October 31. Final software and replay details constitute the immediate priority.
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