There are 100,000,000 (100 million) satoshis in one Bitcoin. A satoshi, often shortened to “sat”, is the smallest unit of Bitcoin, worth 0.00000001 BTC. Because one Bitcoin is expensive, most everyday Bitcoin payments and tips are counted in sats. This guide explains how many satoshis are in a Bitcoin, how to convert between sats and BTC, and where the name comes from.
In this article
How Many Satoshis in a Bitcoin?
1 Bitcoin = 100,000,000 satoshis. Put the other way, 1 satoshi = 0.00000001 BTC (one hundred-millionth of a Bitcoin).
Satoshi to Bitcoin Conversion Chart
| Satoshis (sats) | Bitcoin (BTC) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.00000001 |
| 100 | 0.000001 |
| 1,000 | 0.00001 |
| 10,000 | 0.0001 |
| 100,000 | 0.001 |
| 1,000,000 | 0.01 |
| 10,000,000 | 0.1 |
| 50,000,000 | 0.5 |
| 100,000,000 | 1 |
How to Convert Sats to BTC (and Back)
- Sats to BTC: divide by 100,000,000. Example: 250,000 sats ÷ 100,000,000 = 0.0025 BTC.
- BTC to sats: multiply by 100,000,000. Example: 0.015 BTC × 100,000,000 = 1,500,000 sats.
- Sats to US dollars: convert to BTC first, then multiply by the current Bitcoin price. Example: if 1 BTC = $100,000, then 1 sat = $0.001, so 10,000 sats = $10.
Bitcoin’s price changes constantly, so always check a live price when converting sats to dollars.
Other Bitcoin Units
| Unit | Value in BTC | Value in sats |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | 1 | 100,000,000 |
| Millibitcoin (mBTC) | 0.001 | 100,000 |
| Microbitcoin (μBTC or “bit”) | 0.000001 | 100 |
| Satoshi (sat) | 0.00000001 | 1 |
| Millisatoshi (msat) | 0.00000000001 | 0.001 (used only on the Lightning Network) |
Why Is It Called a Satoshi?
The unit is named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous person or group who created Bitcoin and published the Bitcoin white paper in 2008. Bitcoin launched in January 2009. Nakamoto’s real identity has never been confirmed. The name “satoshi” for the smallest unit was adopted by the Bitcoin community in the early 2010s.
Why Use Sats Instead of BTC?
- Small numbers with lots of zeros are hard to read. “5,000 sats” is easier than “0.00005 BTC”.
- You do not need to buy a whole Bitcoin. You can buy a few dollars’ worth of sats.
- Lightning Network payments, tips and apps usually show amounts in sats.
- Some people “stack sats”, meaning they buy small amounts regularly.
How Many Satoshis Will Ever Exist?
Bitcoin has a maximum supply of 21 million BTC. New sats are created through crypto mining. That means there will only ever be 2.1 quadrillion satoshis (21,000,000 × 100,000,000), which is 2,100,000,000,000,000 sats.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is 1 satoshi worth?
One satoshi is 0.00000001 BTC. Its dollar value depends on Bitcoin’s price; when Bitcoin is $100,000, one satoshi is worth $0.001 (a tenth of a cent).
Can you buy less than one satoshi?
Not on the main Bitcoin blockchain. The Lightning Network can track millisatoshis internally, but they are rounded to whole sats when settled on-chain.
What does “sats” mean?
“Sats” is short for satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin.
Is Satoshi Nakamoto a real person?
Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by Bitcoin’s creator, but whether it is one person or a group, and who they are, remains unknown.
Final Thoughts
There are 100 million satoshis in one Bitcoin, and counting in sats makes small Bitcoin amounts much easier to understand. Divide by 100 million to get BTC, or multiply by 100 million to get sats. For more plain-English crypto guides, explore the latest articles on The Urban Splatter.
This article is for general information only and is not financial or investment advice.
