One-Sentence Definition
A satoshi is the smallest divisible unit of Bitcoin, equal to 0.00000001 BTC (one hundred millionth of a bitcoin), named after Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
Why It Matters for Solo Mining
When you’re solo mining Bitcoin, understanding satoshis is crucial because mining rewards and transaction fees are often calculated and displayed in satoshis rather than whole bitcoins. If you successfully mine a block with something like an Antminer S21 or even a FutureBit Apollo II, you’ll receive 3.125 BTC (as of 2026) plus transaction fees—that’s 312,500,000 satoshis! Your wallet and block explorer will often show amounts in sats to make precise calculations easier.
How It Works
Bitcoin’s code defines one bitcoin as divisible into 100,000,000 units, with each unit called a satoshi (or “sat” for short). This divisibility was built into Bitcoin from the beginning to allow for microtransactions and to accommodate Bitcoin’s deflationary design—as Bitcoin becomes more valuable, people can transact in smaller and smaller fractions. When your mining software finds a valid block, the blockchain credits your address with the block reward in satoshis, not in fractional decimal notation.
The satoshi denomination makes mental math easier when dealing with mining profitability and electricity costs. Instead of saying “I’m paying 0.00000234 BTC per day in electricity,” you can say “234 sats per day”—much cleaner! Most mining calculators let you toggle between BTC and satoshi displays for exactly this reason.
Some other cryptocurrencies have adopted similar naming conventions—like Litecoin’s “litoshi” or Dogecoin’s “koinu”—but “satoshi” remains by far the most recognized small unit in crypto. On the Lightning Network and in many Bitcoin communities, people routinely price things in satoshis because it feels more tangible than tiny decimal fractions.
Example
Let’s say you’re running an Antminer L7 and you finally hit a solo block on Litecoin worth 12.5 LTC. In Bitcoin terms, if you hit a Bitcoin block worth 3.125 BTC, that’s exactly 312,500,000 satoshis—enough to cover years of electricity even at high residential rates. A typical transaction fee might add another 5,000-50,000 satoshis to your reward, which sounds tiny as “0.0005 BTC” but feels more real as “50,000 sats.”