MS Excel 2016 Will Have Native Support for Bitcoin Currency Format
In a nod to the growing popularity of Bitcoin, Microsoft Excel – the most popular and widely used spreadsheet program in the world, will provide native support for the cryptocurrency’s format within the program.
The Microsoft Office software suite, a collection of various programs which altogether makes for the most popular and widely used office software program in the world will soon be including support for the currency format of Bitcoin, through its spreadsheet program Excel.
The revelation is shown as a part of the software suite’s roadmap. The Office 365 roadmap lists all the updates that have been considered by Microsoft’s team of developers for the Office 365 suite as new features rolled out as updates for the program.
The features are marked in various stages of their integration into the Office software suite. Different categories show the stages of developments for features and support for the Bitcoin currency format is currently marked under “In development.”
The update, currently in development and testing phase among 84 other updates for the feature reads:
Bitcoin Currency Format Support
Now use Excel to track, calculate and analyze Bitcoin data using native Bitcoin number formatting options. Feature is first being rolled out to Excel 2016 for Windows, Excel Online, Excel Mobile for Windows and Excel Mobile for Android.
CCN.com has contacted Microsoft for comment on what the feature would bring to Excel functionality, specifically.
Speculatively, the personal financial manager application will soon enable users to use Excel to analyze, allocate and study bitcoin data through native bitcoin formatting support. This may include native recognition of bitcoin with BTC. It may also include allowing Bitcoin values up to 8 decimal spaces, instead of the standard 2 for fiat currencies.
If and when Excel begins native support for the currency format of Bitcoin, it could soon complement the Bitcoin symbol itself which will become a part of the Unicode Standard.
In November 2015, the Bitcoin symbol was accepted by the Unicode Standard and will be included in a future version of Unicode. The news came following a proposal [PDF] made a month prior to its acceptance.
Hat tip to Redditor/cartridgez .
Featured image from Shutterstock.
