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Is Bitcoin Divisible?
Quick Answer
Bitcoin divisibility is crucial for it to be adopted and have practical usage as an everyday currency alternative. Bitcoin is divided into units as small as 0.00000001 BTC. In the future, if needed, the divisibility of bitcoin can be increased to 100 billion smaller parts or even more, as the Bitcoin protocol and its related software can be modified to handle even smaller units.
Divisibility is one of the properties of money, commodity, fiat, or cryptocurrency that makes something of use or value into exchangeable money. Money has to be broken down into smaller units to exchange goods of varying values. Bitcoin divisibility is crucial for it to be adopted and have practical usage as an everyday currency alternative.
Can You Buy Less than One Bitcoin?
Just like a 1 euro bill can be broken down into 100 euro cents, bitcoin can also be divided into smaller units. As the value of one bitcoin has increased, it is reasonable to buy a fraction of the digital currency instead of an entire bitcoin all at once. Bitcoin is divided into units as small as 0.00000001 BTC, which makes bitcoin perfect for micropayments.
Which unit is used to describe the smallest amount of bitcoin existent now?
The smallest value supported by the Bitcoin network is the Satoshi, named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the Bitcoin creator. Each bitcoin can be broken down into one-hundred-million (100,000,000) satoshis. In the future, if needed, the divisibility of bitcoin can be increased to 100 billion smaller parts or even more, as the Bitcoin protocol and its related software can be modified to handle even smaller units.
Another common unit is the bit or microbitcoin (μBTC), which corresponds to one millionth (0.000 001) of a bitcoin. Bits, like most fiat currencies, have a two-decimal precision. Due to the network's limited accuracy, you can send 1.23 bits but not 1.234 bits.
The chart below outlines the most commonly referred-to measurements, ranging in value from the smallest amount of bitcoin (Satoshi) to the greatest (Megabit - MBTC):
| Bitcoin denomination | Bitcoin units | Value | |||
| Bitcoin denomination | Satoshi | Bitcoin units | SAT | Value | 0.000 000 01 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | Microbit | Bitcoin units | µBTC (uBTC) | Value | 0.000 001 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | Millibit | Bitcoin units | mBTC | Value | 0.001 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | Centibit | Bitcoin units | cBTC | Value | 0.01 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | Decibit | Bitcoin units | dBTC | Value | 0.1 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | Bitcoin | Bitcoin units | BTC | Value | 1 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | DecaBit | Bitcoin units | daBTC | Value | 10 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | Hectobit | Bitcoin units | hBTC | Value | 100 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | Kilobit | Bitcoin units | kBTC | Value | 1000 BTC |
| Bitcoin denomination | Megabit | Bitcoin units | MBTC | Value | 1 000 000 BTC |
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