2.1 quadrillion sats
The 21 million BTC cap equals 2,100,000,000,000,000 satoshis—enough for every person on Earth to hold a few hundred thousand sats.
Conversion factors: 1 BTC = 1,000 mBTC = 1,000,000 μBTC = 100,000,000 satoshi.
\(\displaystyle \text{sat} = \text{BTC} \times 10^{8}\),
\(\displaystyle \text{mBTC} = \text{BTC} \times 10^{3}\),
\(\displaystyle \mu\text{BTC} = \text{BTC} \times 10^{6}\).
Bitcoin amounts are commonly expressed as BTC or satoshi (sat). Developers and some wallets also use mBTC (millibit) and μBTC (microbitcoin, “bits”). For quick mental math: 1 BTC = 100,000,000 sat, so 10,000 sat = 0.0001 BTC.
BTC is usually shown to up to 8 decimals; sats are whole numbers. mBTC and μBTC are convenient for human-scale values. This converter rounds BTC to 8 dp, mBTC to 5 dp, and μBTC to 2 dp by default, while sats remain integers.
This tool doesn’t fetch market prices—it’s strictly a unit converter. That keeps it fast, predictable, and private.
Cryptocurrencies are divisible well beyond two decimal places, and that precision is a feature, not a quirk. In Bitcoin, the smallest unit is the satoshi (sat), where 1 BTC = 100,000,000 sat. Other networks have their own base units for similar reasons: Ethereum uses wei (1 ETH = 1018 wei, with gwei = 109 wei) for gas pricing; Solana uses lamports (1 SOL = 109 lamports); Litecoin uses litoshi (1 LTC = 108 litoshi); and Monero uses atomic units (1 XMR = 1012 atomic units). These tiny units make everyday amounts readable, programmable, and fairly comparable across tools.
Most people don’t think in eight decimals. Small units let apps express values in ranges that feel familiar: showing 50,000 sat instead of 0.0005 BTC, or 20 gwei instead of 0.00000002 ETH per gas unit. Clear labeling and consistent unit choices reduce mistakes when entering or scanning amounts, especially on mobile.
Fine-grained units unlock micropayments—small transfers that would be impractical with traditional rails. Examples include creator tips, pay-per-article access, machine-to-machine payments, and streaming small amounts over time. On Bitcoin, this is especially visible with Lightning invoices denominated in sats. The ability to represent tiny increments precisely is what makes these use cases possible.
Precision is useful, but fees still matter. Very small on-chain transactions can be uneconomical if the network fee exceeds the amount being sent; some chains also have dust thresholds or practical minimums below which outputs are discouraged. Wallets typically round amounts for readability and may warn when a transfer is too small to be sensible. Layer-2 networks (e.g., Lightning for Bitcoin) help move tiny values more efficiently.
For developers, quoting amounts in the smallest unit (sats, wei, lamports, etc.) avoids floating-point errors and makes code deterministic. For finance teams, working in base units ensures consistent auditing, reporting, and reconciliation across systems. Converters like this one bridge human-friendly inputs (BTC, mBTC, μBTC) with machine-friendly units.
Different regions use different decimal and thousands separators. Clear unit labels, consistent rounding, and optional separators improve accessibility and reduce errors. This converter supports quick switching between BTC, satoshi, mBTC, and μBTC so you can choose the format that best fits your context.
Note: This section explains units only; it doesn’t provide market prices or financial advice.
The 21 million BTC cap equals 2,100,000,000,000,000 satoshis—enough for every person on Earth to hold a few hundred thousand sats.
The Lightning Network counts in millisatoshi (1/1000 of a sat) so nodes can stream money in ultra-tiny increments for tips or pay-per-second services.
BIP 176 proposed using μBTC (“bits”) in 2017 so prices like 0.000015 BTC could be shown as 15,000 bits—easier to read on menus and receipts.
Many wallets let you toggle between BTC, sats, or fiat display. Switching to sats reduces decimal anxiety and makes typos (like missing a zero) easier to spot.
Because block rewards halve on an integer schedule, the final non-zero subsidy around 2140 will be a single satoshi—after that, new BTC issuance stops.