What does a Satoshi look like?

magnificent (25)in #satoshi • 5 years ago

The Bitcoin logo is iconic. For years, using this single symbol to represent the currency as a whole made a lot of sense. Today, many in the community argue that this is no longer the case. A single Bitcoin is divisible up to eight decimal places. Each of these units has its own unique name. Core developers decided long ago to call Bitcoin's lowest possible value (0.00000001) a 'Satoshi'. At the time, it was not necessary to create additional symbols for each denomination.

The dollar value was low enough that holding less than 1 Bitcoin was uncommon. As values have risen, however, owning an entire Bitcoin has become a rarity. Additionally, it is at times difficult to display BTC's exchange rate against assets of lesser value. For instance, 1 Dogecoin is currently equal to 1/5th of an American penny. You could display this as either '0.0000052 BTC' or '52 SAT'. For these reasons, many are opting to display their holdings in Satoshi, rather than as decimated BTC.

The problem is, there is no commonly accepted 'Satoshi' symbol. Over the years, sites like CoinRanking.com have begun using their own designs, but none of these have gained much traction within the community. Recently, forum posters have reignited this topic by suggesting their own ideas for public scrutiny. Some are abstract or humorous. People have nominated everything from the Superman logo to the Poop emoji. Several have wryly suggested using the common dollar sign ($), insinuating that a single Satoshi may someday reach parity with the US dollar. It is worth noting that this would require one bitcoin to be worth $100,000,000.

Other logos appear to have legitimate potential. Some want to use the Japanese symbols for 'Shi' or 'Sa'. Others have taken a more traditional route, applying various lines to a capital 'S'. In the end, it all comes down to traction. There is no single entity or group that holds sway over these types of decisions. The community as an amorphous whole will decide what to use through adoption. The Bitcoin logo is actually a historical example of this. Years ago, a number of major industry contributors came together in an attempt to change the Bitcoin logo to a symbol that was more keyboard accessible. The result was a major push to adopt 'Ƀ' instead of '₿'. Whole websites went up evangelizing the merits of this new logo. Forum posts, articles, convention talks; you name it. This was going to be the next big thing. After a few short months though, it became clear that the community wasn't interested. No one was actually using the new sign. The original '₿' was here to stay, and that was that.

The 'Satoshi' logo will likely undergo a similar process. There won't be a single person or entity that makes this decision. There will simply be a symbol that the majority of people begin to use. It will occur by consensus. In the meantime, we get to watch history in the making. The fact that we are still answering these types of questions shows that 10 years in, Bitcoin is still in its infancy. For some, it still may not seem like a topic worthy of much consideration. The importance of looking to the future is likely important in this case, however. In the coming years, denoting your holdings in Satoshi will likely be as necessary as cents are to dollars. It is only a matter of time.

Which proposed symbol is your favorite?

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