A recent Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) proposes replacing “satoshis” with “Bitcoins” as the system’s base unit.
Proponents of BIP-177 argue that the practice of representing small Bitcoin values in decimals causes unnecessary confusion.
By redefining one satoshi as one Bitcoin, they hope to better align user perception with the protocol’s underlying design.
At its heart, Bitcoin is a monetary system that uses satoshis, or “sats,” as its fundamental unit.
Current convention defines one Bitcoin as 100,000,000 satoshis.
Considering the low value of single satoshis historically, users have gotten used to referring to BTC values in terms of larger bitcoins, for example, describing 1,000 sats as 0.01 Bitcoin.
While this approach saves users from having to deal with large values, BIP-177 notes that Bitcoin’s ledger represents values as integral base units. Meanwhile, “the decimal point is merely a human-imposed abstraction.”
By making the base unit the standard measure, the proposal aims to “simplify user comprehension, reduce confusion, and align on-chain values directly with their displayed representation.”
What BIP-177 proposes is something like a stock split for Bitcoin that would reflect the reality of cryptocurrency values in 2025 and the expected trajectory of the price of BTC in the years to come.
Publicly traded companies readjust their share values to enable smaller and more precise trades as their market capitalization increases.
Similarly, as Bitcoin’s market cap has increased, the once-minuscule satoshi now marks important price differences.
At $100,000 per Bitcoin, one satoshi equals $0.001. If BTC hits $1 million, 1 satoshi would be worth one cent.
BIP-177 suggests adjusting the cryptocurrency’s phraseology to reflect the non-negligible value of the base unit.
Since it was proposed by Bitcoin developer John Carvalho earlier in May, BIP-177 has gained support from prominent voices in the crypto community.
In an X post on May 16, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey posted that “sats is definitely the wrong term and is stopping everyday people from acquiring and spending bitcoin.”
After discussing the topic repeatedly on X, Dorsey officially threw his weight behind Carvalho’s proposal on Monday, May 19.
Dorsey also reposted comments from the developer of Bitkit Wallet pointing out that they had effectively implemented the alternative nomenclature a year ago.
“Result: Zero confused users. It just looks and feels ‘right,’” the post stated .