ECX Bitcoin hard fork to roll out in three stages
Developer Paul Sztorc set an alpha for Aug. 23, a beta on Sept. 20 and a full ECX mainnet release on Oct. 31.
Paul Sztorc, the developer behind the Drivechain proposal and BIP 300, said the ECX hard fork will launch in three stages rather than as a single event on Aug. 23. The alpha is scheduled for Aug. 23 at block 963648, the beta for Sept. 20 at block 967680, and the full mainnet for Oct. 31 at block 973728.
ECX is a separate blockchain that will copy Bitcoin’s full transaction history at a chosen block height and credit nearly all Bitcoin holders with an equal amount of ECX, excluding some coins attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto. The process does not change the Bitcoin network itself.
Sztorc wrote that the alpha and beta “will (ideally) resemble the full launch, in every way possible,” and that coins gathered during those early phases can be burned and later redeemed for the permanent ECX once the mainnet starts on Oct. 31.
Replay protection will be optional. Official ECX wallet software will enable replay protection and warn users before broadcasting a transaction, but Sztorc cautioned that unprotected transactions will replay: “If you ignore us, we will replay your txns.” A Bitcoin transaction sent without replay protection could execute on both the BTC and ECX chains, moving value on the new chain as well as the original.
Sztorc cited several reasons for the staged rollout. He pointed to risks from software bugs, including faster discovery of vulnerabilities by large language models, and to the desire to let the market establish an early price for ECX before mining difficulty locks in. He also described the phased schedule as a safety net in case of a major problem during testing.
Holders, wallet providers and exchanges have about 12 weeks between the Aug. 23 alpha and the Oct. 31 full release to prepare. Decisions include whether custodial services will run the official software to separate BTC and ECX balances, how exchanges will credit customers with the new asset, and how mining difficulty will react once alpha and beta activity begins creating real chain work.
The Oct. 31 mainnet date coincides with Halloween and the 18th anniversary of the publication of Bitcoin’s 2008 white paper. Observers will monitor the named block heights-963648, 967680 and 973728-as checkpoints for each stage.
Sztorc’s announcement arrives while the Bitcoin ecosystem also anticipates another scheduled fork, BIP-110, expected around the same time.
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