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From: Marcel Jamin <marcel@jamin.net>
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2017 09:02:44 +0100
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To: "David A. Harding" <dave@dtrt.org>, 
	Bitcoin Protocol Discussion <bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>
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Subject: Re: [bitcoin-dev] BIP Proposal: Utilization of bits denomination
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On 13 December 2017 at 22:36, David A. Harding via bitcoin-dev
<bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org> wrote:
> - Microbitcoins is not a homonym for any other word in English (and
>   probably not in any other language), whereas "bit" and "bits" have
>   more than a dozen homonyms in English---some of which are quite common
>   in general currency usage, Bitcoin currency usage, or Bitcoin
>   technical usage.

Reposting /u/BashCo's post on reddit here, for visibility:

---8<---------------------------------------------------------------

> Before anyone says 'bits' are too confusing because it's a computer scien=
ce term, here's a list of homonyms [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_t=
rue_homonyms] that you use every day. Homonyms are fine because our brains =
are able to interpret language based on context, so it's a non-argument. Al=
so, the term 'bits' was used in reference to money long before 'bits and by=
tes' came along, and even before the metric system itself.

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_(money)

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_colonial_real

> 'Bits' are superior to mBTC partly because we'll need to transition to bi=
ts eventually anyways (one transition is easier than two), but more importa=
ntly, bits have two decimal places, matching the format of dozens of other =
major currencies.

> No other currency has 8 decimal places, or even 4 decimal places. Most of=
 them have 2. Dollars and cents, Bits and satoshis.

> If people actually want this to happen, then they need to train their own=
 brains by switching their wallets and exchange settings to bits. The shift=
 will probably happen eventually, although the major Bitcoin denomination p=
robably isn't going anywhere any time soon, even if the majority of people =
use 'bits' as a matter of habit.

> 99.99 bits is currently equal to $1.63 USD.

---8<---------------------------------------------------------------

>
> - Microbitcoins trains users to understand SI prefixes, allowing them to
>   easily migrate from one prefix to the next.  This will be important
>   when bitcoin prices rise to $10M USD[1] and the bits denomination has
>   the same problems the millibitcoin denomination has now, but it's also
>   useful in the short term when interacting with users who make very
>   large payments (bitcoin-scale) or very small payments
>   (nanobitcoin-scale).[2]  Maybe a table of scale can emphasize this
>   point:
>
>       Wrong (IMO):        Right (IMO):
>       ---------------     --------------
>       BTC                 BTC
>       mBTC                mBTC
>       bits                =C2=B5BTC
>       nBTC                nBTC
>

I wouldn't expect people to type out =C2=B5BTC. I think the best you can
hope for here is uBTC. As for saying "microbitcoins", I can virtually
guarantee that this will be abbreviated to "microbits" and/or
eventually "bits" anyway. Bits and sats.

> [1] A rise in price to $10M doesn't require huge levels of growth---it
> only requires time under the assumption that a percentage of bitcoins wil=
l
> be lost every year due to wallet mishaps, failure to inherit bitcoins,
> and other issues that remove bitcoins from circulation.  In other words,
> it's important to remember that Bitcoin is expected to become a
> deflationary currency and plan accordingly.
>
> [2] Although Bitcoin does not currently support committed
> nanobitcoin-scale payments in the block chain, it can be supported in a
> variety of ways by offchain systems---including (it is hypothesized)
> trustless systems based on probabilistic payments.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Dave
>
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