Bitcoin developers want to change the component programmed by Satoshi Nakamoto

Bitcoin developer John Carvalho has proposed a radical change in the structure of the cryptocurrency: according to his BIP-177 initiative, the concept of «satoshi» as the smallest unit of bitcoin BTC $105,767.60 Bitcoin -0.94% Market capitalization $2.1 trillion VOL. 24 hours $1.67 billion will be abolished, and the total issue will be replaced by 21 quadrillion new units instead of the current 21 million BTC. This proposal is intended to make the use of digital currency more convenient and understandable for ordinary users.

Carvalho is not the first to address this topic: back in 2017, Jimmy Song proposed to introduce the concept of «bits» instead of «satoshi». This is an attempt to make the units of account in bitcoin more intuitive. Twitter founder and Block CEO Jack Dorsey also supported the idea of abandoning satoshi, emphasizing that it is difficult for beginners to understand small calculations. According to him, «bits» are better, and it is even better to just work with bitcoins as such.

«Everyone knows what bitcoin is, but no one knows what satoshi is. People just want to send and receive bitcoins,» commented Stevie Lee, CEO of Spiral, a Blockchain subsidiary. He believes that the new format will help avoid confusion and make the currency more understandable to a wide range of users.

However, the initiative is not without criticism. Opponents of the idea point out that most people are well versed in such divisions as cents in a dollar, so they can easily get used to satoshi. In addition, a sharp change in the number of bitcoin units can create the impression that its value has decreased or that the currency’s issue has artificially increased.

It is worth noting that the idea of using the smallest units was supported by Сатоші Накамото" href="https://noworries.news/biography/satoshi-nakamoto/" data-bio-id="4232">Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin. Back in 2010, he wrote: «It's the same money, just a different convention.» Thus, the debate on how to conveniently display the value of digital assets has been going on for more than a decade.