Satoshi (unit)

The satoshi is currently the smallest unit of the bitcoin currency recorded on the block chain.[1] It is a one hundred millionth of a single bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC).[1] The unit has been named in collective homage to the original creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.[2]

The term "satoshi" in use on a message board

All amounts in the block chain are denominated in satoshi before being converted for display.[3] The source code also uses satoshi when specifying an amount of bitcoin.[4] When displaying an extremely fine fraction of a bitcoin, such as when calculating fee per byte or a faucet reward, the amount is displayed in satoshi for readability.[5][6]

Although the satoshi is the finest amount that can be recorded in the block chain,[3] payment channels may need to make very granular payments and so are sometimes denominated in millisatoshi, which are one hundred billionths of a single bitcoin.[7]

In January 2018, 1 Euro cent is worth approximately 83 satoshi.

History

The value of a bitcoin in satoshi was decided by Satoshi Nakamoto to be 100 million no later than November 2008.[4]

On November 15, 2010, ribuck proposed that the one hundredth of a bitcoin (0.01 BTC) be called a Satoshi.[8] Four months later he instead suggested that the one hundred millionth unit be called an austrian or a satoshi.[9] The name satoshi caught on, and was widely adopted thereafter.[2]

In December 2017, BIP-176[10] also proposed "Bits" be used as a standard term for 100 (one hundred) satoshis or 1/1,000,000 (one one-millionth) of a bitcoin.

Usage

Plural

Traditionally, the plural form has been simply satoshi,[11] but the term satoshis is also popular and equally correct. If the plural form were to follow the rules of Japanese grammar, it may be pronounced as satoshisa,[12] or simply satoshi.[12]

Symbol

Satoshi is often abbreviated to sat or s, although no currency symbol has been widely adopted. There are various proposed symbols:

Symbol Explanation
 Reminiscent of the Japanese aesthetic, the closest character being 丰 meaning: "Bountiful - abundant, lush, bountiful, plenty, luxurious growth of grass" which suggests vasts amount of Satoshi are still left to mine. In Unicode the closest character would be (U+2250) ≐, a mathematical symbol meaning "Approaching the limit" suggesting the finite supply, always approaching the limit when 21 million Bitcoins are mined. There is also a play on the phrase Stack Sats as represented by the 3 stacked horizontal bars. This symbol was adopted by the Satoshi Cap exchange on Feb. 22, 2021. Learn more at http://satsymbol.com.
里 In Japanese names, this character can (rarely) be read "satoshi". It is an uncommon Chinese/Japanese character on its own, and an infrequent radical (kangxi #166). It can be seen as a radical in the common kanji 理 and 量, used in meaningful words like: 理想 (ideals), 理論 (theory), 理性 (reason), 理科 (science), and 量 (quantity). "Satoshi" is a rare reading; more commonly it is read as "ri" or "sato".
シ A Japanese katakana representing the syllable "shi". Note that this character is extremely common in Japanese, so it could cause confusion. Also, it can mean "death" in Japanese and Chinese.
㋛ As above, but circled to distinguish it from the katakana.
し As above, but this is the hiragana instead of the katakana. This is even more common than シ in Japanese writing, however.
サ A Japanese katakana representing the syllable "sa". Maybe it looks more reminiscent of a currency symbol than others. Note that this character is extremely common in Japanese, so it could cause confusion.

References
  1. What is a 'Satoshi'? - Bitcoin Stack Exchange
  2. BitcoinTalk thread 407442. How did “satoshi” become the name of the base unit? 9 January 2014. Post 4415850.
  3. BitcoinTalk thread 819656. Why 1BTC should equal 10^8 satoshi ? 11 October 2014.
  4. BitcoinTalk thread 382374. Bitcoin source from November 2008. 23 December 2013.
  5. Binns, Will. "How do I calculate my transaction fee?". 21 Support. https://support.21.co/bitcoin/transactions-and-fees/how-do-i-calculate-my-transaction-fee. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. Barnes, Samuel (9 April 2014). "Do These "Free Bitcoin" Sites Work?". CryptoCoinsNews. https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/do-free-bitcoin-sites-work/. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  7. Receiving and receiving payments
  8. BitcoinTalk thread 369. Official Bitcoin Unicode Character? 14 July 2010. Post 22160.
  9. BitcoinTalk thread 3311. More divisibility required - move the decimal point 10 February 2011. Post 46648.
  10. https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0176.mediawiki
  11. Bitcoin Wiki revision by theymos
  12. BitcoinTalk thread 289475. satoshii 9 September 2013. Post 3112861.
This article is issued from Bitcoin. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.