A recent proposal that aims to change Bitcoin’s base unit to make it easier to understand as a payment tool has run into opposition, with critics saying Bitcoin’s satoshis are no more confusing than the dollar’s cents.
Bitcoin developer John Carvalho introduced Bitcoin Improvement Proposal-177 on April 23, which seeks to eliminate the concept of satoshis, of which there are 100,000,000 in 1 Bitcoin (BTC), and effectively split Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million into 21 quadrillion units.
It follows a 2017 proposal from Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song to create “bits,” representing one-millionth of 1 Bitcoin. However, Carvalho said Song’s approach would still require Bitcoin users to think about decimals and “shifts complexity rather than eliminating it.”
Block Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey is among those calling for the change, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/jack/status/1924121538485178658"