Satoshi (unit)

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The term "satoshi" in use on a message board

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]

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, as in a contemporary faucet, the amount is displayed in satoshi for readability.[5]

As of August 2015, 1 US cent is worth approximately 4300 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.[6] Four months later he instead suggested that the one hundred millionth unit be called an austrian or a satoshi.[7] The name satoshi caught on, and was widely adopted thereafter.[2]

Usage

Plural

Traditionally, the plural form has been simply satoshi,[8] but the term satoshis is also very prevalent. If the plural form were to follow the rules of Japanese grammar, it may be pronounced as satoshi,[9] or satoshisa.[9]

Symbol

Satoshi is sometimes abbreviated to sat or s, although no symbol has been widely adopted.

The Japanese character シ ("shi") has been proposed as a potential currency symbol for the satoshi.[10] The Katakana symbol サ ("sa") has also been proposed, as it looks more reminiscent of a currency symbol.[11][12] The circled shi (㋛) has been suggested to disambiguate the symbol from the character,[13][14][15] as it is synonymous with death.[15][16] Additionally, the Hiragana shi (し) is a suggestion.[16][17]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 What is a 'Satoshi'? - Bitcoin Stack Exchange
  2. 2.0 2.1 BitcoinTalk thread 407422. 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. 4.0 4.1 BitcoinTalk thread 382374. Bitcoin source from November 2008. 23 December 2013.
  5. 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.
  6. BitcoinTalk thread 369. Official Bitcoin Unicode Character? 14 July 2010. Post 22160.
  7. BitcoinTalk thread 3311. More divisibility required - move the decimal point 10 February 2011. Post 46648.
  8. Bitcoin Wiki revision by theymos
  9. 9.0 9.1 BitcoinTalk thread 289475. satoshii 9 September 2013. Post 3112861.
  10. /r/Bitcoin thread 3egrjk. Satoshi symbol 24 July 2015. Self post.
  11. /r/Bitcoin thread 3egrjk. Satoshi symbol 24 July 2015. This post
  12. /r/Bitcoin thread 3egrjk. Satoshi symbol 24 July 2015. This post
  13. /r/Bitcoin thread 3egrjk. Satoshi symbol 24 July 2015. This post
  14. /r/Bitcoin thread 3egrjk. Satoshi symbol 24 July 2015. This post
  15. 15.0 15.1 /r/Bitcoin thread 3egrjk. Satoshi symbol 24 July 2015. This post
  16. 16.0 16.1 /r/Bitcoin thread 3egrjk. Satoshi symbol 24 July 2015. This post
  17. /r/Bitcoin thread 3egrjk. Satoshi symbol 24 July 2015. This post