Author: Brayden Lindrea, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Deng Tong, Jinse Finance
A recent proposal aimed at changing the basic unit of Bitcoin to make it easier to understand as a payment tool has faced opposition. Critics argue that Bitcoin's 'satoshi' is no more confusing than the 'cent' in dollars.
Bitcoin developer John Carvalho proposed Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 177 on April 23, which aims to eliminate the concept of 'satoshi' (1 Bitcoin equals 100 million satoshis) and effectively split Bitcoin's fixed supply of 21 million into 21 trillion units.
Previously, Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song proposed in 2017 the creation of 'bits', representing one millionth of a Bitcoin. However, Carvalho stated that Song's approach still required Bitcoin users to think in decimals and 'shifted complexity rather than eliminating it.'
Block Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey is one of the advocates for this change, stating in a post on X on May 18 that satoshis are too confusing for newcomers.
Dorsey said, 'Bitcoin's bits are better, and Bitcoin itself is the best.'
Dorsey mentioned a discussion on this topic in December 2024, when Stevie Lee, the product lead at Bitcoin infrastructure company Spiral, pointed out that not many people understand or care about what a 'satoshi' is.
'Everyone knows Bitcoin, but no one knows satoshi; people just want to send and receive Bitcoin,' Lee said, recalling past conversations when people thought satoshi was a new token unrelated to Bitcoin.
He added that the Bitcoin community does not have to worry too much about this change because they know that Bitcoin's underlying economic mechanisms will remain unchanged.
Opponents of this change include Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten and Byte Federal's Director of Products Michelle Weekley.
Weekley stated on X: 'People understand that one dollar equals several cents, and they also understand that one Bitcoin equals several satoshis.'
Self-proclaimed Bitcoin consultant Magdalena Gronowska claimed that this change might lead some to believe that Bitcoin's price would suddenly plummet from its current level of around $100,000 due to a 'dramatic increase in supply.'
Parker Lewis, Director of Business Development at Zaprite, believes that SAT is easier to understand. Source: Parker Lewis
The founder of Bitcoin is open to this
Robin Linus, the founder of the Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM), emphasized that even Bitcoin's anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto would be willing to change the way Bitcoin units are displayed to improve usability.
'If dealing with small numbers is annoying, we can change the position of the decimal point,' Satoshi said in a post in February 2010, after which he disappeared the following year.
'The amount is the same; it's just conventional,' Satoshi added.
Comments made by Satoshi Nakamoto in February 2010 regarding the change of Bitcoin unit base. Source: Bitcointalk
Since the Taproot upgrade in November 2021, the Bitcoin network has not implemented any improvement proposals intended to enhance Bitcoin's speed, efficiency, and privacy.
