Bitcoin could see two fork-related events in 2026, according to Odaily, citing Bitcoin.com News. One is an intentional hard fork called eCash, planned by developer Paul Sztorc and expected to activate around Aug. 21 at block height 964,000. The other involves the controversial soft fork proposal BIP-110, which carries a risk of an unintended chain split during its August signaling window.
If Bitcoin does split, the UTXO set would be duplicated, meaning holders would receive assets on both ledgers at a 1:1 ratio. Whether those forked coins remain usable would depend on replay protection, mining difficulty and market conditions. The report also draws a line between self-custody and custodial holdings. Users who control their own private keys at the time of the snapshot can typically sign transactions on either chain. For assets held on exchanges or other custodial platforms, access to any forked coins would depend on the platform’s policy because the platform controls the private keys at the snapshot.
Two fork-related events are on Bitcoin’s 2026 calendar
Bitcoin may see two fork events in 2026, Odaily reported, citing Bitcoin.com News.
One is an intentional hard fork called eCash, which developer Paul Sztorc plans to launch. It is expected to activate around Aug. 21 at block height 964,000. The other is the disputed soft fork proposal BIP-110, which carries a chance of causing an accidental chain split during its August signaling window.
What a chain split would mean for holders
If Bitcoin splits, the UTXO set would be copied, giving holders assets on both ledgers at a 1:1 ratio.
Whether those forked coins stay usable would depend on replay protection, mining difficulty and the market. For self-custodied BTC, users who control their private keys at the time of the snapshot can usually sign transactions on either chain. For custodial holdings, the private keys are controlled by the platform at the snapshot, so whether users receive forked coins would depend on the platform’s policy.
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