Latest news with #satoshis
Khaleej Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Beginner's guide to crypto: Why I started investing in bitcoin
One of the most common things I hear from people when I bring up Bitcoin is some version of: 'I'm curious — I just don't know where to start.' The person who finally said yes to getting started was Natasha Hatherall-Shawe. She's a well-known Dubai resident, founder and CEO of TishTash Marketing Agency, a seasoned investor, and someone I've known professionally for more than a decade. We were texting one afternoon when our conversation veered into crypto. She asked a few questions and I answered as best I could. Then I said what I say to everyone at some point: 'Why not just get some?' Most people hesitate. They say they'll think about it. They don't do it. But in very short order — the course of our discussion — Natasha downloaded a platform I mentioned, signed up, and bought her first stack of sats. That's short for satoshis, the smallest units of Bitcoin. In the way a smart person would start a new exercise routine, she didn't overthink it or procrastinate, make a big plan or go too deep. She just took one small step — and that is the foundation of any action. And that's the thing: you don't need to go all-in to start exploring Bitcoin or crypto, in general. You don't need a course, a coach or a financial advisor. You don't need to wait until you 'understand everything'. This investment is the opposite of all that. It's accessible to all of us. You just need a small amount — an amount you're willing to lose — and a little curiosity. From that place, everything shifts. Suddenly, you're watching the charts and noticing the headlines. You are involved in an entirely new financial system. You've got skin in the game, and that changes how you learn. I dare you to not be excited about it. Bitcoin is accessible in a way most people don't realise. It's fractional —meaning you don't have to buy a whole coin (now more than $100,00). You can put in a few dirhams. And once you're in, the confusion starts to fade. Not all at once — the terminology is still foreign and the platforms don't always make things easy — but you begin to see it's not as mysterious as it seemed. You also start to see how many of us have been trained to believe financial systems are for someone else — someone smarter, someone richer, someone 'in the know'. That conditioning runs deep. Many people have completely outsourced their finances to headlines and advisers. Crypto flips that dynamic. You don't need permission. Just a little action. Of course, there are issues in the space. The branding of crypto is still messy. I'm not that excited about people getting kidnapped and tortured for their Bitcoin, although I don't suppose many thieves would bother for my small haul. And depending on what company you keep, there's almost always a lingering cultural cringe when you bring it up — like you're falling for something unserious or unstable. That's why community matters. Finding a group, a friend, a trusted resource —someone to help you cut through the noise and remind you that yes, this is confusing, and yes, it's okay to not know everything yet. Regardless, you and I both deserve to be here. One of the easiest places to start getting acquainted is X and TikTok. If you are a newcomer, and especially of you are a woman, I'd suggest Bec Jones (@becejones on X and @cryptobec_ on TikTok) for how adept she is at explaining complex topics. It's still the wild west in some corners. But if you stick to reputable exchanges, go slow, and only invest what you can afford to lose, you've lowered your risk significantly. You can then do what many people do — what Natasha later told me she's planning to do — and invest a small, fixed amount every month. Some people do this every week, or even every day. This strategy is known as dollar-cost averaging. And no matter how you invest, it's as close to a can't-lose strategy as there is, helping average out market volatility and building your confidence over time.
Crypto Insight
19-05-2025
- Business
- Crypto Insight
‘Sats' vs ‘bits' debate reignites amid proposal to change Bitcoin base unit
A recent proposal that aims to change Bitcoin's base unit to make it easier to understand as a payment tool has run into opposition, with critics saying Bitcoin's satoshis are no more confusing than the dollar's cents. Bitcoin developer John Carvalho introduced Bitcoin Improvement Proposal-177 on April 23, which seeks to eliminate the concept of satoshis, of which there are 100,000,000 in 1 Bitcoin and effectively split Bitcoin's fixed supply of 21 million into 21 quadrillion units. It follows a 2017 proposal from Bitcoin developer Jimmy Song to create 'bits,' representing one-millionth of 1 Bitcoin. However, Carvalho said Song's approach would still require Bitcoin users to think about decimals and 'shifts complexity rather than eliminating it.' Block Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey is among those calling for the change, saying in a May 18 X post that satoshis, or sats, are too confusing for newcomers. 'Bits of Bitcoin is better, and just Bitcoin is best,' Dorsey said. Dorsey pointed to a December 2024 discussion on the topic where Stevie Lee, product lead of Bitcoin infrastructure firm Spiral, argued that not enough people know or care about what satoshis are. 'Everyone knows Bitcoin, no one knows sats, people just want to send and receive Bitcoin,' Lee said, recalling past conversations where people thought satoshis were an entirely new token, unrelated to Bitcoin. He added that the Bitcoin community shouldn't be too concerned with the change, as they know the underlying economics of Bitcoin would remain intact. Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten and Byte Federal director of product Michelle Weekley were among those who opposed the change. 'People understand cents in a dollar, they will understand sats in a Bitcoin,' Weekley said on X. Magdalena Gronowska, a self-described Bitcoin consultant, claimed that the change could make some people think that Bitcoin abruptly crashed from its current price of around $100,000 and that its 'supply has massively inflated.' Bitcoin creator was open to the idea Robin Linus, the creator of the Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM), highlighted that even Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was open to changing how Bitcoin's units are displayed for the purpose of usability. 'If it gets tiresome working with small numbers, we could change where the display shows the decimal point,' Satoshi said in a February 2010 post before vanishing the following year. 'Same amount of money, just different convention,' Satoshi added. The Bitcoin network hasn't implemented any improvement proposals since the Taproot upgrade in November 2021, which aimed to improve Bitcoin's speed, efficiency and privacy. Source:
