Bitcoin Proposal Aims to Simplify Transactions with New Unit Structure

John Carvalho, a well-known Bitcoin supporter, has introduced a new proposal that seeks to overhaul how Bitcoin is quantified and represented.

His plan aims to shift the focus from the traditional model, where one Bitcoin (BTC) is divided into 100 million satoshis (sats), to a system that uses the satoshi as the primary unit of measurement.

Under Carvalho’s proposal, the concept of “one Bitcoin” would be redefined to represent the smallest unit of Bitcoin, the satoshi, instead of the larger BTC unit. This change would eliminate the need for decimal places in Bitcoin transactions, simplifying how Bitcoin values are displayed and making them more user-friendly. For example, a transaction currently shown as 0.00010000 BTC would instead be represented as 10,000 BTC under this new framework.

Carvalho believes this change will reduce confusion and align Bitcoin’s appearance with its underlying protocol, making it more accessible to newcomers. He argues that the decimal point in Bitcoin transactions is an artificial construct and that the technology behind Bitcoin supports this kind of shift.

This is not the first time the structure of Bitcoin’s units has been debated. In 2017, Jimmy Song, a prominent Bitcoin developer, proposed BIP 176, which recommended using “bits” as a unit to simplify smaller transactions. However, this suggestion did not gain widespread traction.

Some critics argue that altering Bitcoin’s unit system could create complications for existing wallets, exchanges, and other platforms built around the current structure. Additionally, they warn that such a change could lead to confusion among users and potentially cause transaction errors during the transition.