Author: Mike Caldwell 2014-04-20 18:11:18
Published on: 2014-04-20T18:11:18+00:00
The standard terminology used in bitcoin transactions can be difficult for average people to understand. As software developers, we are accustomed to using fully qualified names for everything, but this tendency should not be projected onto the general population if we want them to feel comfortable using bitcoin. It is easier for people to understand a single syllable word with multiple meanings than a unique 3+ syllable word like satoshi or micro-anything. The proposal is that users are offered a preference to denominate the Bitcoin currency in a unit called a bit where one bitcoin (BTC) equals one million bits (bits) and one bit equals 100 satoshis. However, there have been many proposals for arbitrary subunits. It is argued that it would be better if it were uncommon for everyone rather than just uncommon for people not used to metric units. Some people might find it weird to use "bit" as it has already been used in English. Despite that, less than 0.1% of average people would think of something other than bitcoin when they hear “Bitcoin can be divided into a million bits." Most people are good at using context to relate this to "a dollar can be divided into 100 cents" and accepting it. This requires much less of their mental resources than using SI prefixes correctly or learning 3 syllable words that (to them) have no instantly apparent relationship to Bitcoin.
Updated on: 2023-06-08T20:12:45.851742+00:00