Satoshis in One Bitcoin

One bitcoin equals exactly 100,000,000 satoshis, the smallest unit of account on the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin was designed to be divisible to eight decimal places, allowing for fine-grained payments and securing its role as digital cash.

Bitcoin’s Unit System

The Bitcoin protocol defines one bitcoin as consisting of 100,000,000 individual units, termed "satoshis" (sats) in reference to the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. This fixed relationship is encoded in Bitcoin Core’s source code using the `COIN` constant, which sets one bitcoin to 100,000,000 satoshis. As a result, one satoshi equals 0.00000001 bitcoin. Blockstream, River, Bitstamp and Kraken state that one bitcoin can be subdivided precisely into 100 million satoshis.

The term "satoshi" is used as a unit of account on the Bitcoin network, distinguishing it in use from larger denominations. Bitcoin, the primary unit, is commonly cited in exchange prices and when quoting large balances. In practice, the smallest network-accountable balance is a satoshi, but real-world constraints can render many below a certain threshold practically unusable.

Why People Quote in Satoshis

However, the base unit for all network balances and transactions is the satoshi. Regardless of how balances are reported in wallets, every bitcoin address holds and transfers satoshis. On-chain, the satoshi is the smallest measurable and controllable unit, tied directly to the protocol's divisibility principle.

Simple Satoshi-Bitcoin Conversions

To translate between bitcoin and satoshi, bitcoin can be multiplied by 100,000,000, or divided by 100,000,000. Here are a few round conversion examples using this factor: