I’ll add my two cents…

Thanks for mentioning this. I’ve been waiting to discuss this topic. I’ve addressed it in my research paper “Bitcoin: The Reality, The Issues, and The Potential”.

Using sats as it relates to commerce is an *issue* of Bitcoin. Recall, according to the initial paper that introduced Bitcoin, Bitcoin is to be used for peer to peer online transactions. Therefore, my following perspective relates to commerce.

To understand why it’s an *issue*, let’s start with the initial paper. In the paper, “sats” were never mentioned. Only Bitcoins. At the time, Bitcoin was not based on the value of the US dollar. Bitcoin was simply a new medium of exchange. If I sold a shirt, I would get 1 Bitcoin in exchange as proof that the transaction occurred . There was no US dollar value attached to the sale. And no fractional units at play. The inherent *value* was in the 1 Bitcoin itself. In my opinion, it should have stayed that way. It could have been *the* standard.

Nevertheless, if people know the history of Bitcoin, the exchange for cash for Bitcoin came a little later. And now Bitcoin’s *value* is based on the US dollar. Furthermore, this *value* fluctuates based on many factors which is another issue for Bitcoin as it relates to commerce.

When the price of Bitcoin started to increase and became too expensive to purchase a whole Bitcoin, people started to encourage the buying of fractional amounts. Specifically sats. And sats then took on a life of its own.

With that said, now we’re here. 🤷‍♀️

So, let’s explore two examples.

Example 1. Suppose a luxury car sells for $50,000. The seller agrees to accept Bitcoin. Which of the following sounds and looks better for the sale?

1. 0.5 Bitcoin, or

2. 50,000,000 sats

Most people would say 0.5 Bitcoin. So, decimals are fine. Correct?

Example 2. Suppose a bag of potato chips sells for $5. The seller agrees to accept Bitcoin. Which of the following sounds and looks better for the sale?

1. 0.00005 Bitcoin, or

2. 5000 sats

Most people would say 5000 sats. So, sats are fine. Correct?

Thus, the usage depends on the sales amount. Correct?

Mathematically, it makes sense to use decimals or fractions. With that said, we know most people struggle with math. 🥴

But does it make sense to value *everything* in sats? No. Using sats as a denomination for every sale has never made sense to me especially for values over $100.

So, what’s a *potential* solution? One answer: Create additional denominations.

For the US dollar, there are denominations other than a penny. If sats are considered the Bitcoin version of the penny, then create a nickel, dime, quarter, 50-cent version of Bitcoin. You can choose what you want to call them.

For those who struggle with math especially decimals and fractions (fourth grade concepts) 🥴, let me help you.

A penny is 1/100th of a dollar.

A nickel is 1/20th (5/100th) of a dollar.

A dime is 1/10th (10/100th) of a dollar.

A quarter is 1/4 (25/100th) of a dollar.

You can create similar denominations for Bitcoin. I’ll let y’all hash it out.

For the record, this is one potential solution and it’s relatable. There are other solutions as well. If you don’t like the one posted, then you post a potential *solution*. 🙃

Personally speaking, I think decimals and fractions should be used as it relates to subunits of Bitcoin for the majority of transactions. Sats could be used when representing the value of items less than $100. Why? Because of the following…As a comparison, we use decimals daily when writing dollar amounts. $25.14, $7656.43, $0.34. We rarely write $25.14 as 2514 cents or $7656.43 as 765643 cents 🥴 Nonetheless, $0.34 can typically be written as 34 cents.

Since Bitcoin’s value is based on the dollar, it would make sense to create something that is relatable to the dollar. You’re more than welcome to create something else but take into consideration learning curve and adoption.

As stated previously, Bitcoin should have stayed 1:1. Simple and easy. 1 Bitcoin exchanged in a peer to peer transaction as written in the initial paper. That’s it. Nothing else. But now we’re here. 🤦‍♀️

P.S. I’m not sharing my research paper yet. I’m not posting my *work*. I’ll share it in due time. Please excuse the long response. I believe it was a little over two pages. I wrote an informal version of what’s in the research paper. I wrote it and not AI. 🙄 The research paper is more thorough though. I’m an academic! 🥳

For those who want to comment on my post, you are welcome to do so. Remember to be respectful.