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Satoshis & Divisibility
"Bitcoin is too expensive" — no, you can buy fractions down to 8 decimal places
The Misconception
"Bitcoin costs $40,000, I can't afford one."
You don't need to buy a whole Bitcoin! Bitcoin is divisible into 100 million units called satoshis (or "sats"). You can buy $10 worth, $1 worth, or even less.
1 BTC = 100,000,000 sats
Named after the creator: A satoshi is the smallest unit of Bitcoin, named after Satoshi Nakamoto. The symbol sat or sats is commonly used.
Unit Converter
$40.00
USD Value (@ $40k/BTC)
Units of Bitcoin
| Unit |
Symbol |
In BTC |
In Satoshis |
| Bitcoin |
BTC |
1 |
100,000,000 |
| milliBitcoin |
mBTC |
0.001 |
100,000 |
| microBitcoin (bit) |
μBTC |
0.000001 |
100 |
| Satoshi |
sat |
0.00000001 |
1 |
Thinking in Sats
Many Bitcoiners prefer to think in satoshis rather than BTC. It's psychologically easier to say "I have 500,000 sats" than "I have 0.005 BTC".
Everyday Examples (at ~$40,000/BTC)
| Item |
USD Price |
In Satoshis |
| Coffee |
$5 |
~12,500 sats |
| Lunch |
$15 |
~37,500 sats |
| Monthly subscription |
$10 |
~25,000 sats |
| Used phone |
$200 |
~500,000 sats |
"Stacking sats" is a popular phrase meaning to accumulate small amounts of Bitcoin over time. You don't need to buy a whole coin — every satoshi counts!
Why 8 Decimal Places?
Satoshi chose 8 decimal places, giving 100 million satoshis per Bitcoin. This allows for:
- Microtransactions: Pay fractions of a cent (on Lightning Network)
- Future-proofing: Even if 1 BTC = $1 million, 1 sat = $0.01 (still usable)
- Accessibility: Anyone can afford some satoshis
Could we add more decimals? If needed, a future soft fork could add more decimal places. But with 2.1 quadrillion total satoshis (21M × 100M), we're unlikely to need it anytime soon.
Total Supply in Satoshis
2,100,000,000,000,000 sats
That's 2.1 quadrillion satoshis — plenty for everyone on Earth.
~262,500
Sats per person (8B people)
~2.1M
Sats per person (1B adopters)