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Sats explained

One bitcoin splits into 100,000,000 sats. The total supply is capped at 21 million bitcoin, which is 2.1 quadrillion sats. You never need a whole bitcoin to take part.

The numbers

• 1 bitcoin = 100,000,000 sats.
• 0.01 bitcoin = 1,000,000 sats.
• 0.0001 bitcoin = 10,000 sats.
• All bitcoin that will ever exist = 21,000,000 x 100,000,000 = 2,100,000,000,000,000 sats (just under, in fact).

The protocol counts in sats

Under the hood, Bitcoin has never used decimals. Every amount on the blockchain is a whole number of sats, and the supply limit in Bitcoin Core is written as 21 million times 100 million sats. "Bitcoin" is just a handy name for 100 million of them.

Why it matters

"I cannot afford a whole bitcoin" is a myth about units. Nobody needs one. Saying 20,000 sats is the same as 0.0002 bitcoin, and easier to picture. Fees are counted in sats too, as sats per virtual byte.

Go further

• How many Bitcoin are there?
• Why 21 million?
• What happens after the last bitcoin?
• Want to convert amounts? Use the sats calculator.

Not financial advice. General education only. Do your own research.