Just my opinion on the whole Bitcoin vs Sats vs bits debate,..
But why is there even an argument over fixing something that isn't broken?
Just my opinion on the whole Bitcoin vs Sats vs bits debate,..
But why is there even an argument over fixing something that isn't broken?
Because there are people out there who would like to break something that is fixed.
That's what it sounds like. Sats will be the standard. It evolved organically that way.
Do you know who's really good at fixing things that aren't broken?
Governments 😂
I thought you Brits loved the government? 🤭
Other peoples, sure 😂
I got a feeling the world will see revolution in the next cpl yrs. Pretty sure most of the world is tired of this crap.
We have decided it's because the experts and influencers are retarded.
Seriously? Who started calling it "bits" and why do we need this? Sats has already been well established and works fine.
The argument is that it IS broken. I disagree with the argument, but let me see if I can steel-man it.
1 Bitcoin = 100,000,000 sats is broken because...
First, the protocol itself has no idea what a "Bitcoin" or "sats" are. As far as the protocol is concerned, the only thing it knows about is that there will never be more than 2.1 quadrillion units. That being the case, if we are going to call the protocol "Bitcoin," then the units the protocol uses should be called "bitcoins." 1 Bitcoin or 1 sat are concepts completely foreign to the protocol itself.
Second, the idea of a Bitcoin not being just 1 base unit of the protocol is confusing to new users. Sure, they can understand how there are dollars and there are cents, and that 1 dollar being made up of 100 cents is roughly the same concept as 1 Bitcoin being made up of 100,000,000 sats, but they won't understand why it is useful to have such a massive difference in unit size. 1 dollar only has 100 cents, not 100,000,000 cents. 1 Bitcoin could have just as easily been defined as 100 sats, and that would make a lot more sense to folks. As it is, though, we know that we will have more divisibility (millisats) on layers above the base chain. So why not make the switch now to calling the base units of the protocol "bitcoins" and decide to call fractions of that unit, used on transactional layers above the base chain, something else?
Third, because a "Bitcoin" is over $100,000 these days, there is a unit bias that has caused many people to decide, "It's too expensive for me to ever even own 1 Bitcoin, so I may as well buy some of these other cryptos that I can own a lot more of, and if they even become HALF as valuable as Bitcoin, I will be rich!" These folks would be far more likely to purchase Bitcoin instead of crypto if 1 Bitcoin was a fraction of a cent, and they felt like they could get 955 Bitcoins for just $1, instead of only getting 0.00000955.
Fourth, as Bitcoin moves into being used as a medium of exchange, almost no-one is going spend 100,000,000+ units in a single transaction, like they did in the old days. There will be no need for wallets to show balances of X number of Bitcoins when 100,000,000 sats is such unheard of wealth that the only entities that have enough to own a full Bitcoin are nation-states, large corporations, and the uber-rich. Instead, wallets will ONLY show X number of the base unit (currently called sats), and perhaps a decimal place with fractions of that unit behind it. If no one is spending a whole Bitcoin anymore, then the concept of that unit ceases to be of any use. It would be a shame if we lost the use of the term "Bitcoin" to refer to the asset simply because no one ever spent that much of it anymore.
Finally, it's only really the OGs and Bitcoin-geeks who actually know what sats are. The vast majority of people who have bought Bitcoin have no idea about them. Phasing out the term makes sense for the future of Bitcoin and will only really upset a couple hundred thousand people who even know that sats exist at all, so the term is really serving no other purpose than to be a barrier to understanding Bitcoin for new adopters. We should be trying to remove as many such barriers as possible, so that as many regular folks start buying as possible before the nation-states and large corporations start buying in earnest, making it harder and harder for the average Joe to build up any meaningful amount.
Now, even though I disagree with changing the term at this time, I do think a lot of these arguments have merit, and it may very well be that we stop referring to 100,000,000 units as 1 Bitcoin in the future, as it becomes more and more rare for anyone to own that much, and we are transacting more and more in Bitcoin as we move into medium-of-exchange phase.
For now, though, I think it is critically important to maintain the one thing that the vast majority of people who have heard anything about Bitcoin are aware of, even if they don't own any: There will never be more than 21 million Bitcoin.
If we flip that script now, it damages the fixed supply narrative too much to outweigh the benefits, in my opinion, and the reliably enforced fixed supply is THE key feature of Bitcoin. Going from only 21 million Bitcoin to 2.1 quadrillion will be understood (incorrectly) as a MASSIVE supply increase, shattering any confidence that Bitcoin's supply can't be changed outside of those who actually understand how the protocol works and that the supply wasn't changed whatsoever. Therefore, we should hold off and let the change in how we refer to sats vs Bitcoin happen on its own, if it happens at all.
First, thank you for taking so much time to explain that. Greatly appreciated 🙏
And I do get the argument. Yes, there is merit. However, I firmly agree with your overall synopsis that we should let it evolve organically. At least, that's my opinion. I think if we start rearranging definitions and terms that's going to confuse the situation more than it needs to be.
The narrative of only 21mil is critical in pushing it's value forward. I say let it happen organically. If, and when that happens, we can deal with it then. Just my 2 Sats. 🫡
I think the way it will likely happen is from wallet apps just not have any reference to "Bitcoin" or "sats" in their UI, other than to stick ₿ in front of or behind the balance, so users will just start referring to sats as "bitcoins" naturally over time. Especially once you can no longer buy Bitcoin from an exchange, but have to earn it through productive work.
Very well could be. As you're already aware, I completely believe we should be using it as a MoE. I tend to use "Bitcoin" and " Sats" interchangeably because I know that Bitcoiner's understand what I'm saying. I don't need to define it. But I've never actually considered that noobs might not understand.
Kinda like when I don't understand the tech like you, and need it explained. So there is that consideration as well.
Great summary!
I'd add that the suggested separation of Bitcoin and BTC makes some sense too, i.e. using BTC as a sort of tombstone.
That way the number 21 million still holds; it's just 21 million BTC exclusively, no longer 21 million Bitcoin.