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Last week, longtime Bitcoiner John Carvalho introduced a new Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) aimed at addressing the unit distortion problem that many people face when they first find bitcoin.
“This BIP proposes to redefine the commonly recognized unit “bitcoin” so that what was previously known as the smallest indivisible unit becomes the primary reference unit,” explains Carvalho. “Under this proposal, a bitcoin is defined as the smallest unit, eliminating the need for decimal places. By making the integral unit the standard measurement, this BIP aims to simplify user understanding, reduce confusion, and align values on the chain directly with their displayed representation.”
The display of how bitcoin units are displayed would change from its current state to this:
Current: 1.00000000 BTC → New: 100000000 BTC
Current: 0.00500000 BTC → New: 500000 BTC
Current: 0.00010000 BTC → New: 10000 BTC
“Historically, 1 BTC = 100,000,000 base units. According to this proposal, “1 bitcoin” is equivalent to the smallest unit,” the proposal further explains.
I understand where Carvalho is coming from on this and I can visualize scenarios where some people might find it easier, but I think the thinking here is probably short-sighted and doesn’t work in the grand scheme of things.
Over the years I have also heard from other Bitcoiners discussing how to combat Bitcoin unit bias. It seems that most Bitcoiners are primarily concerned with the fact that new users often become immediately discouraged if they cannot afford a full bitcoin and instead tend to gravitate towards purchasing altcoins where they can purchase at least 1 unit of that coin.
After recognizing the problems he is trying to solve with this, I personally do not support this BIP. I think it would add more confusion rather than solve it. I think it’s ultimately a waste of time and energy for Bitcoin developers to focus on this when there are many other things they could be working on that would add real value to Bitcoin.
I think Stehpan Livera had a couple of great takes on this, pointing out how silly it would be in practice.
Hey, I have this great idea! Instead of 1 pizza with 8 slices, let’s just call each slice pizza!
Just make sure that when you go to order your pizza, you now order 8 pizzas instead of 1. Otherwise the staff will get confused.
Just my 2 pizzas.
— Stephan Livera (@stephanlivera) December 14, 2024
Everyone involved in Bitcoin is already used to how it is currently specified, so this is not a real issue that most people seem to worry about. Carvalho suggested implementing a feature where wallets and the like can toggle between the current and what-may-be-new way of displaying bitcoin units, so there’s a transition period where users can get used to his way of specifying bitcoin units, but I simply don’t see why it would be worth making this transition.
It would simply be a burden on everyone to start explaining this way and would potentially slow down adoption, if anything.
Good luck to those who prefer to explain "there will never be more than 2.1 quadrillion bitcoins" 😂
— Stephan Livera (@stephanlivera) December 14, 2024
This article is a Take. The opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.