Original Title: "Killing Satoshi's 'Satoshi', BIP-177 Starts the Bitcoin Unit War"

Original author: Golem, Odaily Planet Daily

On the evening of May 18, Jack Dorsey, the founder of the social platform X (formerly Twitter), posted mentioning "bip 177", which has sparked widespread attention. It is reported that BIP stands for "Bitcoin Improvement Proposal"; what Jack posted is not some mysterious Meme symbol, but rather the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal numbered 177.

BIP-177: Making Bitcoin "More"

BIP-177 was proposed by Synonym CEO John Carvalho, and the proposal aims to redefine the basic unit and representation of Bitcoin without involving modifications to the core consensus protocol. The key points of the proposal are as follows:

· Change the basic unit of Bitcoin from "satoshi" to "bitcoin", with both satoshi and sat being deprecated;

· The currency code "BTC" is not affected by changes and can continue to be used, 1 BTC = 100,000,000 bitcoins;

· The symbol "₿" can be used to represent the basic unit Bitcoin, 0.345 BTC = 34, 500, 000 bitcoins = ₿ 34, 500, 000 ;

· The application should allow users to switch between traditional BTC format and the new integer format.

In simple terms, the BIP-177 proposal aims to make everyone's Bitcoin "appear more" in terms of display and format, increasing the total amount of Bitcoin displayed to 21 million bitcoins, but it does not actually change the supply of Bitcoin.

Benefits of BIP-177

Although it is merely a change in display and format, John also believes that BIP-177 will have significant benefits:

· Reduce cognitive load

Due to the appreciation of Bitcoin, whether for daily payments or on-chain use, Bitcoin often appears in decimal form. By redefining and displaying the basic unit of Bitcoin (BTC) as "one Bitcoin (bitcoin)", it can reduce the cognitive burden on users. An interface that only displays integers can simplify mental calculations and reduce potential confusion or user errors. For example, compared to a user spending 0.00002 Bitcoins, spending 2000 Bitcoins is easier to understand.

· Eliminate unit fear

Currently, the price of one Bitcoin is approximately 104,000 USD, which easily triggers people's unit fear, making them think the price is too expensive. However, saying that they can only afford 0.1 Bitcoin feels a bit embarrassing. At the same time, for newcomers who are just getting into Bitcoin, the perception of the high unit price can easily trigger "ceiling anxiety," making them think it's too difficult for the price to continue rising. However, if displayed in a new format, one Bitcoin is only 0.00104 USD, which, compared to a price of 100,000, feels easier to rise in perception, eliminating unit fear.

· Simplify user experience

Abandoning the original basic unit Satoshi can simplify the user experience, and removing the artificial decimal format can help users understand that the Bitcoin protocol essentially counts discrete units. Satoshi, in relation to Bitcoin, is a secondary currency unit, which increases the complexity of counting Bitcoin. Understanding Bitcoin and Satoshi has become two separate issues, which is not conducive to the easier dissemination of Bitcoin.

Voices of Opposition

Of course, there are also opposing voices in the community regarding the BIP-177 proposal.

· Destroyed the "Satoshi culture"

The strongest opposition to the BIP-177 proposal lies in its suggestion to abandon the basic unit named after the "Bitcoin creator" Satoshi Nakamoto, which creates a cultural barrier.

· Easy to confuse

For users who are accustomed to using BTC as a unit, confusion can easily arise, especially during verbal communication. At the same time, it is also a challenge for Chinese translation. If both BTC and the base unit bitcoin are translated as 比特币, serious confusion will occur during expression, affecting consensus.

· Affect the brand awareness of Bitcoin

This is a huge contradiction. Essentially, the reason Bitcoin attracts attention and goes mainstream is because it is getting more expensive. However, if a new format is used, the price of one Bitcoin will seem "not expensive," which may affect newcomers' brand perception of Bitcoin.

What is the "display" work in a bull market?

In fact, during a bull market, as the price and purchasing power of Bitcoin increase, discussions about the basic unit of Bitcoin will arise. In December 2017, when the price of Bitcoin surpassed $10,000, community members proposed BIP-176, suggesting the introduction of a new Bitcoin unit called bits, which converts as follows: 1 bits = 100 satoshis = 0.000001 BTC. The reasons for this proposal are also similar to those of BIP-177, such as reducing cognitive burden and facilitating daily use (no wonder these two proposals were compiled together), but this proposal ultimately did not pass.

Today, the price of one Bitcoin has surpassed 100,000 USD, becoming 10 times more expensive compared to 8 years ago, and the purchasing power of Bitcoin has significantly increased again. In the United States, one Bitcoin can buy a Tesla Model S Plaid, in China one Bitcoin can easily secure a Xiaomi SU 7 Ultra, and in El Salvador, one Bitcoin can purchase an entire villa property. These expenditures are already luxurious for ordinary people, so it is reasonable that people are once again focusing on the basic units and representations of Bitcoin. However, essentially, such upgrades have no practical effect on the Bitcoin network; they are more like people engaging in 'showing off' during a bull market. If it falls into a bear market again, and the value of Bitcoin decreases, people's concern about it may diminish once more.

According to the implementation schedule expected by BIP-177, even if the proposal is passed, the entire process from introducing the concept in the first stage to the mainstream adoption of a format that only displays integers in the second stage, and finally reaching the third stage where integer format representation becomes the standard, is expected to take 2 years. However, the enthusiasm for promoting this proposal may also change with market fluctuations. Interestingly, the Bitcoin Pizza Day is just around the corner. 15 years ago, someone bought two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins, which was only worth $41 at the time, and now these 10,000 BTC are worth over $1 billion. Nowadays, if BIP-177 is passed, people would still need to spend 35,000 Bitcoins to buy these two pizzas; how can this not be considered another cycle?

If my life cannot be improved, then change the metric unit.

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