Why Bitcoin has multiple units
Bitcoin was designed to be divisible to eight decimal places — meaning one Bitcoin can be split into 100 million pieces. As Bitcoin’s price has risen from fractions of a cent to tens of thousands of dollars, different sub-units have emerged to make everyday amounts readable.
You would not express a $5 payment as “$0.00005 of a million dollars.” Similarly, expressing small Bitcoin payments as 0.0000521 BTC is awkward. Sub-units solve this elegantly.
The four main Bitcoin units
Bitcoin (BTC)
The base unit. One Bitcoin. At current prices, one BTC is worth tens of thousands of dollars, making it more of an investment denomination than an everyday payment unit.
Best for: Investment amounts, large transfers, price quotations.
Millibitcoin (mBTC)
One thousandth of a Bitcoin (0.001 BTC). At $96,000 per BTC, one mBTC is worth about $96.
Best for: Medium-sized transactions. Some older wallets and services use mBTC as their default display unit.
Microbitcoin / Bits (μBTC)
One millionth of a Bitcoin (0.000001 BTC), also called a “bit.” At $96,000 per BTC, one bit is worth about $0.096 — roughly ten cents.
Best for: Retail-sized amounts. Less commonly used today as satoshis have become the community standard.
Satoshi (sat)
The smallest unit — one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC). Named after Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. At $96,000 per BTC, one satoshi is worth about $0.00096.
Best for: Lightning Network payments, small transactions, everyday commerce.
The Bitcoin community is increasingly standardizing on satoshis for everyday use. Lightning Network apps, Square, Strike, and Cash App all use sats as their default unit.
Complete conversion table
| Unit | Symbol | Value in BTC | Value in Sats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | BTC | 1 | 100,000,000 |
| Millibitcoin | mBTC | 0.001 | 100,000 |
| Microbitcoin | μBTC / bit | 0.000001 | 100 |
| Satoshi | sat | 0.00000001 | 1 |
Bitcoin unit conversion formulas
BTC to sats: Multiply by 100,000,000 Sats to BTC: Divide by 100,000,000 BTC to mBTC: Multiply by 1,000 mBTC to BTC: Divide by 1,000 BTC to bits: Multiply by 1,000,000 Bits to BTC: Divide by 1,000,000 Sats to mBTC: Divide by 100,000 Sats to bits: Divide by 100
Real-world examples at $96,000 per BTC
| Item | USD price | In sats | In BTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cup of coffee | $5 | ~5,208 sats | 0.0000521 BTC |
| Lunch | $15 | ~15,625 sats | 0.000156 BTC |
| Monthly subscription | $10 | ~10,417 sats | 0.000104 BTC |
| 1 mBTC | $96 | 100,000 sats | 0.001 BTC |
Use the BitcoinUnit converter to get exact values at the live current price. Select any unit from the dropdown and all other values update instantly.
Which unit should you use?
The right unit depends on context:
- Receiving a large payment or holding Bitcoin as an investment? Use BTC
- Paying or receiving small amounts on Lightning? Use sats
- Running a Bitcoin-accepting business? Use sats for invoices, dollars for bookkeeping
- Building on Bitcoin? Use sats — it is the developer community standard
- Explaining Bitcoin to a newcomer? Start with the dollar equivalent, then show the sat amount
Will there ever be more units?
The Bitcoin protocol supports up to 8 decimal places, giving us the satoshi as the smallest unit. There are 2.1 quadrillion satoshis in total (21 million BTC × 100 million sats).
Some developers have discussed a potential future soft fork to add more decimal places if needed, but this is not planned or imminent. For now, satoshis are small enough for any practical transaction.