More people need to realize this.
They think they can just "move the decimal" when Bitcoin becomes expensive to use on-chain.
They need to understand that doing that is increasing the supply of Bitcoin units and is a huge fucking deal.
I would like to personally thank nostr:npub13ndpm2hm9hud4azsq5euhf5mv3d05r90wymwxsd7rdn29609hhvqp60svh for helping me learn that:
1. Bitcoin is specifically an integer based system, that’s how the “21 Million” code is enforced
2. Millisats don’t exist they are a result of lightning using percentages of channel balances.
3. There is no decimal point
Discussion
I’m so thankful for bip-177
"doing that is increasing the supply of bitcoin units"; I think it's debatable exactly what that means with the word "units" at the end, but it is not debatable that without it, the sentence is flat out wrong. A building doesn't become taller when you measure it in centimeters instead of meters. There is no such thing as "a bitcoin", or "a satoshi". Any more than there is "an inch". It's a measuring unit. You can change measuring units if you like, for all kinds of reasons, but that doesn't change the thing you measure.
Bitcoin units are those 2,099,999,997,690,000 things that the software creates and verifies the movement of. It's not a unit of measurement.
Correct, but the nuance of moving the decimal requires you to understand the hard cap.
You can move the decimal over infinitely & yes you'll be creating a smaller, smallest denomination - but you'll never reach the hard cap of 21M just as close as you can get to infinity ♾️.
There is no decimal. Your wallet software just shows it to you that way.
No, there is no such thing as "a bitcoin" or "a satoshi", in the software, in memory on your computer, or in the protocol. This is actually crucial, and not just semantics. If each satoshi were an actual thing, then they could be traced from inputs to outputs. All that exists is an accounting mechanism of (output measured value - input measured value).
Great point.
Forgive my ignorance, is this essentially highlighting. That it’s a ledger system and not a token system?
I guess you could put it like that, yes.
Note that chaumian ecash is not this way.
Exactly they are no 'coins', no 'notes', no 'currency units'.
There is only a chain of digital signatures. There is no issuance of currency.
When a new block is found a new special digital signature is created.
The signature announced publicly to anyone who will listen.
They are no wallets because there are only keychains that hold public/private key pair data.
#bitcoin is Text. Data. Speech.
Reification :)
Great analogy. 🎯
It's not a big deal IMO.
The point is that the network cannot be DEBASED, which is increasing the supply unfairly. Simple increasing further division of the current network total value by adding a few zeros to every user's balance, and thus increasing the total units, every few years is not unfairly affecting anyone and only enhances usability as the value of each satoshi rises.
Also, we can even just keep the total network division as "21M" by leaving the software placed decimal at 1 / 21M of the total.
This debate is only controversial when a Satoshi is still a penny or less. Once a Satoshi becomes worth $1 (~2035~), $10 (~2038~), $100 (~2041~), and so on there will be no debate and consensus will be found to update Bitcoin. Allowing further division as Satoshi himself considered a possibility.
