eCash chain distributing tokens on a 1:1 basis to all holders, marking a first major fork in the institutional era.
The event comes as large holders including spot ETFs, custodians and corporates like MicroStrategy collectively control millions of BTC, fundamentally changing how forks are handled.
“From time to time, the Trust may be entitled to… digital assets… generally through a fork in the Bitcoin blockchain,”
Stated BlackRock in its ETF prospectus, highlighting how such events are governed.
The fork, proposed by Paul Sztorc, will create a near-identical chain with additional Drivechain-based features, including decentralised exchanges, privacy tools and NFT infrastructure.
However, institutional ownership introduces complexities around tax, compliance and fiduciary duties, particularly as US rules treat forked tokens as taxable income once controlled.
Custodians such as Coinbase, which holds a large share of ETF bitcoin, could become key decision points in determining how assets are distributed or supported.
With billions of dollars potentially at stake and no precedent at this scale, the August fork is expected to test how Wall Street, regulators and crypto infrastructure handle large-scale blockchain splits.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $76,190.47.