This is an opinion editorial by Arman The Parman, a Bitcoin educator with a passion for privacy.
bitcoiners are having trouble deciding on a unanimous choice for the symbol sats. I’ve seen several suggestions without an obvious winner.
I think I’ve discovered a symbol we can all agree on – it seems obvious in hindsight. But wait until you hear the reasoning and symbolism before deciding. Here is the symbol I’m proposing:
The symbol is made with an inverted “S” which is like writing a “2” (but not quite), and a vertical strikethrough, which is like a “1”. The number two and one together also add up to 21, referencing bitcoin’s maximum supply limit of 21 million.
The sat symbol It is poetically beautiful in my opinion.
What’s more, it’s a vertically inverted dollar sign, representing the anti-dollar, or dollar-killer. Alternatively, it’s a dollar sign reversed horizontally (it can’t be both, otherwise it would end up reverting back to dollar sign).
One of the most important things about the symbol is that there is a reasonable probability that most people will naturally agree to use it. There has been a very quick and overwhelmingly positive response to a tweet announcing the symbol, posted on my public Twitter account.
This was a typical response:
And others:
Another Twitter user commented that the reversed “S” and the strikethrough can represent the first and last letters of “Satoshi”, which was interesting. Others have said that it contains elements of Knut Svanholm’s “infinity” divided by 21 million memes:
A real “2” was suggested instead of an “S”, but that can look a bit tricky when written in front of real numbers, and is unlikely to get as much support as I’ve seen with the reversed dollar sign. It doesn’t look pretty to me either.
To me, it looks better with an “S”:
We already agreed to 21 million bitcoins, or 2.1 quadrillion satoshis, anchoring this Schelling point to a new one, I think it has a great chance of success.
someone else suggested looks like “L2,” appropriate because satellites are the default unit in the main Layer 2 protocol, the Lightning Network.
It is also important to consider the ease and speed of writing this symbol. Only two pen strokes are needed. You only need to lift the pen once. The more decorative the symbol, the more annoying it is to write it by hand, and then it will simply be abbreviated.
I love the idea of reinforcing the “brain virus” of 21 million caps every time someone types the symbol sats. At least for me, it would be a great satisfaction to write it each and every time.
No matter what your favorite symbol is, everyone agreeing has been part of the problem. Since there are so many reasons why this is a good symbol, I think there’s a good chance we’ll settle on this one.
This is a guest post by Arman The Parman. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
