Published on: 2014-05-03T18:46:37+00:00
The ongoing debate in the Bitcoin community revolves around the unit of measurement for Bitcoin transactions. Andreas Schildbach argues that users prioritize the amount in their local currency, while Tamas Blummer suggests denominations similar to traditional currencies. Jeff Garzik proposes uBTC as a user-friendly option, and MultiBit HD offers customizable configuration options. The conversation highlights the complexity of determining the best unit of measurement for Bitcoin.There are suggestions to use symbols like XUB or uBTC as the naming convention for microbitcoins. It is emphasized that changes should not be made without user permission and that the system should take care of users who make mistakes when entering values. Additionally, the discussion highlights the need for a standardized format that empowers users to use all available decimal places and suggests the use of official test cases for wallet software to ensure desired behavior.The discussion also touches on the perception of Bitcoin prices in different currencies. Schildbach argues that users are not confused by the use of mBTC as a unit of measurement, while Blummer suggests that Bitcoin would be more widely accepted if it had prices and fractions like other currencies. The debate continues with Garzik expressing disappointment over the switch to mBTC and suggesting uBTC as a more user-friendly option.In November 2013, the Bitcoin community engaged in discussions regarding the unit of measurement for Bitcoin transactions. The main proposal was to switch from mBTC (millibitcoin) to uBTC (microbitcoin) as the standard unit. Advocates of uBTC argued that it would be more intuitive for users, as two decimal places are becoming standard for new national currencies. They believed that using uBTC would bring Bitcoin closer to everyday human scale numbers. However, there were concerns about confusion and potential mistakes leading to lost coins, as well as the perception of uBTC being less valuable.Alan Reiner expressed concerns about changing the base unit of an established system, stating that it could cause more problems than it's worth. Mark Friedenbach supported skipping mBTC and moving straight to uBTC, emphasizing the need for user-friendliness. He suggested switching currency symbols to XBT or NBC (New Bitcoin) to alleviate confusion. The discussion also touched on other issues, such as displaying fees and trading rates in BTC or MBTC, addressing terminology fix-ups, and the use of confirmations and addresses. The goal was to promote consistency and clarity in Bitcoin transactions.The rise in the value of Bitcoin raised concerns among new users who found the high price intimidating. A straw poll conducted previously showed that a majority of respondents favored switching to a system allowing for fractional amounts of Bitcoin to be purchased. Satoshi's comments indicated that while there are only 21 million coins available, there are six decimal places internally, allowing for a total of eight decimal places. It was suggested to change the default display in software to mbtc, with a dropdown display option initially and eventually becoming the default. This change aimed to make working with small numbers less tiresome and more user-friendly.Overall, the discussions focused on optimizing the user experience in Bitcoin transactions by considering the unit of measurement, currency symbols, fee displays, and terminology fixes. The community aimed to address concerns and promote clarity while ensuring a smooth transition for users. The MultiBit HD wallet offered customizable options for icons and symbols, following NIST guidelines for SI unit symbol representation. However, there was disappointment expressed by Jeff Garzik when Bitcoin Wallet moved to mBTC instead of uBTC. He believed that the consensus was for uBTC and another decimal place transition would cause confusion.Wladimir, on the other hand, responded that getting people to care about this issue was difficult and couldn't blame Andreas for making the change to mBTC since it seemed to be catching on in the community. The conversation also touched upon the issue of terminology for Bitcoin addresses. Mark Friedenbach proposed changing the term "address" to "key id" to avoid misleading associations with physical addresses or accounts. Other suggestions included using "invoice id" or "payment address" instead of "address" to avoid confusion with email addresses.The discussion also addressed the standardization of Bitcoin units and terminology. Alex Kravets suggested Bitcoin currency code standardization, proposing the use of XBT as the currency code and defining one bit as 100 satoshis. Eugen Leitl opposed this idea and suggested using SI prefixes instead. Alan Reiner supported the XBT idea but disagreed with the term "micro bitcoins", suggesting alternatives like "bits" or "microbits". The goal was to find a standardized way to represent Bitcoin units to avoid confusion among users.Usability issues in Bitcoin transactions were also discussed, particularly the difficulty of dealing with small amounts and the learning curve of Bitcoin. Suggestions were made to simplify bitcoin transactions by displaying fees and trading rates in BTC or MBTC instead of fractions of bitcoins.
Updated on: 2023-08-01T06:36:29.548885+00:00