The Bitcoin community is once again at a crossroads—this time not over price or regulation, but over semantics. A proposal to officially change Bitcoin’s base unit from satoshis to something more “user-friendly” has sparked a lively and polarized debate among developers, executives, and long-time supporters of the digital currency.
At the heart of the controversy is Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 177, introduced on April 23 by developer John Carvalho. The proposal argues for a shift away from satoshis—or “sats”—the smallest denomination of Bitcoin, in favor of a new framework that would redefine the base unit and potentially make transactions easier for the average person to grasp.
Currently, one Bitcoin consists of 100 million satoshis. Carvalho believes this decimal-heavy system is needlessly complex, especially for newcomers. His proposal would effectively divide Bitcoin’s total fixed supply of 21 million into 21 quadrillion smaller units, eliminating the need for decimals entirely.
This isn’t the first time the idea has been floated. Back in 2017, Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song proposed “bits,” representing one-millionth of a Bitcoin. However, Carvalho dismissed that approach, claiming it only shifts the complexity rather than solving the core issue of user confusion.
The new proposal has found support in high places. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block Inc. and long-time Bitcoin advocate, publicly backed the change. In a May 18 post on X (formerly Twitter), Dorsey said, “Bits of Bitcoin is better, and just Bitcoin is best,” emphasizing his belief that the term “satoshis” creates unnecessary confusion.
Dorsey pointed to a previous conversation in December 2024 where Stevie Lee, the product lead at Spiral (a Bitcoin infrastructure firm under Block), argued that most people outside the crypto sphere don’t understand what a satoshi is. “Everyone knows Bitcoin. No one knows sats,” Lee said, recalling situations where newcomers mistook sats for a completely different cryptocurrency.
However, not everyone agrees with changing what many view as a fundamental component of Bitcoin’s identity.
Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin, and Michelle Weekley, Director of Product at Byte Federal, both voiced their opposition. Weekley argued that people already understand how cents work in the context of dollars, so they can just as easily learn what sats are in relation to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin consultant Magdalena Gronowska added a more cautionary perspective, suggesting that switching the unit could unintentionally cause market confusion. “It could look like Bitcoin crashed in price or that the supply had inflated,” she warned.
Adding to the discourse, Parker Lewis, head of business development at Zaprite, weighed in by stating that satoshis are actually easier to grasp in everyday use, contrary to what proponents of the change argue.
Interestingly, Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, had once touched on this topic back in 2010. In a Bitcointalk forum post, Satoshi suggested that the placement of the decimal point could be shifted for easier reading, saying, “Same amount of money, just different convention.” While the quote doesn’t confirm support for a specific unit, it does suggest openness to reevaluating display formats for usability.
The proposal has stirred nostalgia and innovation alike, coming at a time when Bitcoin hasn’t implemented any major upgrades since Taproot in November 2021. That update focused on improving transaction efficiency, privacy, and scalability, but the latest discussion shows the community is still very much in the process of refining Bitcoin’s user experience.
Whether or not BIP-177 gains traction remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Bitcoin’s evolution isn’t just about code—it’s also about how people connect with and understand the digital asset in their everyday lives.
