The dispute between "Satoshi (Sats)" and "bits" has reignited in the proposal for changing the basic unit of Bitcoin (BTC).

Source: Cointelegraph Original text: "The debate between 'Sats' and 'bits' reignites in the Bitcoin (BTC) basic unit change proposal"

A recent proposal aimed at changing the basic unit of Bitcoin to make it easier to understand as a payment tool has faced opposition, with critics arguing that Bitcoin's "satoshi" is no more confusing than the "cent" of the dollar.

Bitcoin developer John Carvalho proposed Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 177 (BIP-177) on April 23, which seeks to eliminate the concept of "satoshi" (1 bitcoin equals 100 million satoshis), effectively dividing Bitcoin's fixed supply of 21 million into 21 trillion units.

This proposal continues the idea of creating "bits" proposed by Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song in 2017, which is one millionth of a Bitcoin. However, Carvalho stated that Song's approach still requires Bitcoin users to consider decimal points, which "only shifts the complexity rather than eliminating it."

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Block Inc., is one of the supporters of this change. He stated in a post on the X platform on May 18 that the term "satoshis" or "sats" is too confusing for newcomers.

"The bit unit of Bitcoin is better, and using only Bitcoin is the best choice," said Dorsey.

Dorsey pointed to a discussion in December 2024, when Tevie Lee, the product head of the Bitcoin infrastructure company Spiral, believed that not enough people understand or care about what Bitcoin is.

"Everyone knows Bitcoin, but no one knows Satoshi. People just want to send and receive Bitcoin," Li recalled, mentioning that in past conversations, people thought Satoshi was a completely new token unrelated to Bitcoin.

He added that the Bitcoin community should not be overly concerned about this change, as they know that the underlying economics of Bitcoin will remain unchanged.

Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin, and Michelle Weekley, Product Director at Byte Federal, both oppose this change.

Wickley stated on platform X, "People understand the cents in a dollar, and they will also understand the satoshis in a bitcoin."

Magdalena Gronowska, who claims to be a Bitcoin advisor, stated that this change could lead some to believe that Bitcoin has suddenly plummeted from its current price of around $100,000, and that its "supply has significantly expanded".

The creator of the Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM), Robin Linus, emphasized that even Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, is open to changing the way Bitcoin units are displayed in order to enhance usability.

"If using small numbers becomes exhausting, we can change the position of the decimal point," Satoshi Nakamoto stated in a post from February 2010, after which he disappeared the following year.

"The amount is the same, it's just the way of expression that is different," added Satoshi Nakamoto.

Since the Taproot upgrade in November 2021 (which aimed to improve the speed, efficiency, and privacy of Bitcoin), the Bitcoin network has not implemented any improvement proposals.

Related news: Metaplanet has once again made a large purchase of 1,004 bitcoins (BTC), setting a record for the second largest single increase in history.