To ensure clarity and inclusiveness in UIs and assistive technologies, the following recommendations apply:
Pronunciation:
The abbreviation "sat" should be pronounced as /sæt/, and "sats" (plural) should be pronounced as /sæts/ (rhyming with "cats") by screen readers and voice assistants. "Satoshi" (singular) is pronounced /səˈtoʊʃi/. "Satoshis" (plural) is pronounced /səˈtoʊʃiz/.
Singular vs. Plural:
"1 sat" should be read as "one satoshi" and "100 sats" as "one hundred satoshis" to preserve correct pluralization and meaning. When reading aloud:
"1 sat" → "one satoshi" → /wʌn səˈtoʊʃi/
"100 sats" → "one hundred satoshis" → /wʌn ˈhʌndrəd səˈtoʊʃiz/
Readable Formats:
Prefer full terms in accessibility modes (e.g., "satoshis" instead of "sats"), and group digits to assist parsing (e.g., "12,345" instead of "12345").
Contextual Labels:
Interfaces should use clear alt-text or aria-labels such as: alt="Transaction fee: 14 satoshis per virtual byte". This enables screen readers and other assistive technologies to accurately interpret and communicate the content.
To the Bitcoin developer community,
I'm writing to propose a new Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) aimed at formally standardizing terminology for Bitcoin's smallest unit. This is an informational BIP that seeks to officially recognize "satoshi" (singular) or "satoshis" (plural) as the standard term for 1/100,000,000 of a bitcoin, with "sats" as the standard abbreviation.
While this terminology is already widely used throughout the Bitcoin ecosystem, no formal standard exists, leading to inconsistent usage across applications, documentation, and communications. This BIP seeks to formalize what has organically become common practice.
The BIP can already be viewed here:
https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/pull/1841I'd like to note that this proposal differs from BIP-176 (Bits Denomination) and the recent BIP-177 proposal (Redefine Bitcoin's Base Unit). While those proposals suggest changing or adding denomination schemes, this BIP simply formalizes existing widely-used terminology without changing the underlying unit structure.
I look forward to your feedback and suggestions.
Thank you,
--
OceanSlim
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