eCash Alpha issues pECX; Mainnet fork details unresolved

An eCash test network produced practice pECX at Bitcoin block height 963,648 on Aug. 23. The Alpha run generated practice units only and did not change Bitcoin ownership. The Alpha chain produced blocks beginning at 963,648 and advanced through at least 963,650.

The Alpha chain flagged a stale competing block at its opening height. Bitcoin’s ledger recorded a separate block 963,648 with hash 00000000000000000001769d9a327f5b455aa8a2dd407b1b63040d2a9f832d32 and timestamp 2026-08-23 01:48:47.

Project documentation sets three stages: Alpha around block 963,648 (Aug. 23), Beta near block 967,680 (around Sept. 20) and Mainnet at block 973,728 (Oct. 31). Alpha and Beta issue practice pECX; the planned Mainnet would credit permanent ECX at a 1:1 ratio copied from Bitcoin balances.

Project notes state practice pECX can be burned for real ECX at Mainnet. Founder Paul Sztorc wrote that “1,000 pECX could be redeemed for 10 ECX.” The project has not published final client software, the definitive fork hash, or a replay protection scheme.

The project’s integration guide, last updated Aug. 11 and labeled pre-launch, references drynet4 parameters and warns integrators that final software branches, tags and the replay protection method will be published later. Current coin-splitting guidance uses an opt-in nLockTime value of 499999999 for ECX transactions and integrators are told to verify the final scheme before Mainnet.

Several exchanges and custodians published notices keeping Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals active through Alpha while reserving the right to change handling later. GMO Coin stated it would not process pECX or ECX during Alpha and Beta. Other firms left later ECX crediting, listing and custody decisions undecided.

The Alpha stage provided a test window for miners, wallet developers and exchange engineers to check node behavior and transaction handling without creating a permanent token allocation. The project evidence does not establish that Alpha transaction history or balances will automatically carry into Beta or Mainnet.

Beta is scheduled for roughly Sept. 20 and Mainnet for Oct. 31. Until the project publishes final fork parameters, client releases and replay rules, software teams, custodians and users will need definitive guidance before adjusting handling or listing any resulting ECX token.