A new proposal to redefine Bitcoin’s smallest unit has sparked heated debate in the crypto community, with notable backing from Block Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey and pushback from key Bitcoin proponents.
On May 18, Dorsey publicly endorsed a shift from “satoshis” in favour of more intuitive units, arguing that the term confuses newcomers.
“Bits of Bitcoin is better, and just Bitcoin is best,”
he posted on X, supporting a recent Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP-177) by developer John Carvalho.
this
sats are so confusing to people just getting into bitcoin.
bits of bitcoin is better, and just bitcoin is best. https://t.co/DjF77wecwD
— jack (@jack) May 18, 2025
On April 23, Carvalho proposed redefining Bitcoin’s supply from 21 million coins to 21 quadrillion smaller units, eliminating the term “satoshis.” He argues that the current system hinders usability and mainstream adoption. Although using smaller units isn’t new, as Jimmy Song suggested using “bits” in 2017, Carvalho criticized it for relying on decimal thinking and not simplifying the complexity.
Product lead at Spiral, Stevie Lee, echoed Dorsey’s sentiment during a December 2024 discussion, saying satoshis are poorly understood. “Everyone knows Bitcoin, no one knows sats,” he remarked, recalling how many newcomers often mistake satoshis for a separate token.
Despite these calls for simplification, the proposal has met strong resistance. Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin, and Michelle Weekley, product director at Byte Federal, argue that satoshis are no more complicated than cents in a dollar. “People understand cents in a dollar, they will understand sats in a Bitcoin,” Weekley said.
Bitcoin consultant Magdalena Gronowska warned the change could create confusion, making some think Bitcoin had crashed in price or that its supply had suddenly ballooned.
Still, historical remarks from Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, suggest the door for unit display adjustments was always open. In a 2010 post, Nakamoto said that display changes could be made for convenience, calling it
“the same amount of money, just different convention.”
Meanwhile, in May 2024, Dorsey made a bold prediction about Bitcoin, suggesting that the cryptocurrency could reach a price of at least $1 million by 2030.
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