Satoshi

Two meanings: (1) the smallest unit of Bitcoin (1/100,000,000 BTC), and (2) the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin.

Satoshi has two meanings in Bitcoin. The first is the unit: a satoshi (or "sat") is one hundred-millionth of a Bitcoin — the smallest unit the protocol recognises. One BTC equals 100,000,000 sats. As Bitcoin's price has risen, more people transact in sats than in BTC, because the unit is the right size for everyday amounts.

The second meaning is the inventor: Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous person or group who published the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008 and launched the network in 2009. Satoshi mined the first block, ran the early code, and corresponded with early adopters by email. Around 2010, they handed off control of the project and disappeared. Their identity remains unknown.

Satoshi's mining wallets contain roughly 1 million BTC that have never moved. The fact that this fortune sits untouched is one of Bitcoin's most striking properties — its inventor walked away from billions of dollars rather than continue to control the project.

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Related terms

Glossary

Sats

Short for satoshis — the smallest unit of Bitcoin. 100 million sats = 1 BTC.

Glossary

Bitcoin

A peer-to-peer digital currency invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto. The first money in human history with a fixed supply.

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