Bitcoin has a logo, so why doesn’t the Satoshi?

The world is long familiar with the Bitcoin symbol, but the question of what represents its sub-unit, the Satoshi, remains unanswered.

Some folks from the Bitcoin Design Community (BDC) say they’ve solved it. They’ve taken the classic hamburger menu and added a tip and a tail.

It does go a little deeper: BDC notes the top half of their Satoshi symbol (≐) already exists in Unicode (U+2250), and it represents “approaching the mathematical limit” — a cute reference to Bitcoin’s fixed supply.

You can also take the three individual bars and stack them, much like the Bitcoin acquisition meme “stacking sats.”

• Each Bitcoin is divisible into 100 million Satoshis.
• One satoshi (0.00000001 BTC) is currently worth $0.00050871.
• Bitcoin can be further divided in the future if necessary.

BDC even says its Satoshi is reminiscent of the Chinese symbol for “bountiful” and “luxurious growth of grass,” a supposed nod to the “vast amounts of Satoshis left to mine.”

The thing is, Bitcoiners have floated suggestions for years, but none have quite stuck.

No doubt, the Bitcoin industry will one day reach consensus on what exactly represents BTC’s smallest unit.

Considering they’re worth more than ever (and it’s been a good half-year since we’ve grappled with the concept), what better time to decide than now?

The fact that we are going to use the term ''Satoshis/#sats '' instead of ''Bitcoins'' in the upcoming years for accumulation, payments & other #bitcoin transactions leads to a necessity for a widely recognised #Satoshi symbol. –> pic.twitter.com/QC4QU8lmbv

— julianbp ₿ ¤ ⧫⚡ (@_julianbp) December 2, 2020

Update 10:15 UTC, Feb 26: The symbol’s lead designer contacted Protos overnight to share more details about the project.

“I’m just a fan of Bitcoin, believer since 2017,” said DankLard via email. “I’ve been a professional designer for over 20 years. I don’t want money or recognition, just want to be an active participant in the promotion and adoption of Bitcoin.”

DankLard explained the symbol changed through a few iterations last year, but a final design was settled with help from a colleague (josephinxy).

They added: “The market will definitely decide […]. At one point, the Bitcoin symbol was just an idea (with proponents and detractors) until someone approached the Unicode Consortium and made it real. That’s the path I want to take with the Satoshi Symbol.”

As for the Stussy symbol (shown in the tweet above), DankLard reckons it’s great, but it’s unfortunately not practical at small sizes. Sad.