BIP Proposal: Define Bitcoin Subunits as Satoshis/Sats

Apr 29 - May 2, 2025

  • The email highlights a proposal to integrate accessibility and voice/UI guidance into a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) aimed at standardizing the terminology around Bitcoin's smallest unit.

This suggested addition aims to make digital communication more inclusive, particularly for users of assistive technologies. It outlines a detailed approach towards ensuring that numerical values are accessible in screen readers, voice assistants, and other accessible interfaces. For instance, it recommends converting "1 sat" to "one satoshi" and provides a phonetic transcription to aid in pronunciation by speech-based technologies. To support these guidelines, it references resources on the International Phonetic Alphabet and a phonetics conversion tool, which could be instrumental in developing comprehensive accessibility standards.

Furthermore, the email addresses the core purpose of the proposed BIP, which is to formally recognize "satoshi" as the standard term for the smallest Bitcoin unit, and "satoshis" for its plural form, with "sats" as an abbreviation. This effort seeks to eliminate inconsistencies in the terminology's usage across different platforms, without altering Bitcoin's unit structure. It distinguishes this BIP from previous proposals, such as BIP-176 and BIP-177, which focused on denomination changes rather than terminology standardization. The proposer encourages feedback and suggestions from the community to refine the proposal, which is available for review. This initiative underscores the importance of standardizing digital currency terminology while ensuring accessibility for all users, reflecting a commitment to inclusivity in technological development.

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