Bitcoin Forum

Bit - it has two relevant meanings for BTC.  The lesser known one is a slang term in many western countries for cash (eg, a US bit is worth 1/8 USD...see http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_(money) )

If there is an intentional double entendre here and Satoshi thought of it...perhaps he was, culturally speaking, western and not Japanese. His posts sound American to me, but I've only read a few.

Are you American?  I'm guess no, because the term bit hasn't been used here in about 100 years.

So the slang "two-bit" (such as a "two-bit company") is not used in the US (thought I'd read some joke about Microsoft Windows years ago that had that term in it)?

I dunno what Satoshi was thinking but his coin bit me.

From http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?MicrosoftWindows:

Windows was once famously described as "32 bit extensions and a graphical shell [on top of] a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor, written by a 2 bit company, that can't stand 1 bit of competition." This was attributed to Art Bahrs (an HP guy) in Aug 1997, although it probably predates that.

Oh, won't the banks be bitter when Bitcoin becomes more popular than they.

Is the Bit in Bitcoin the 1.0 or the 0.00000001?

how businesses have name variations from those 3 words:  Coinbit, Bitcoin, Bitme.  there is a Coinbit isn't there?  :D

Yes, that specific phrase is used occasionally to mean something cheap/worthless, but that's the only usage I've ever heard,

"i'm feeling a bit tired".

That's just means small.... I was referring to using it as a monetary term, but I suppose only the OP said that, not me.

Perhaps simply that bits make up one of the foundations of digital data?  ByteCoin doesn't sound as cool anyway...

Try "I'm as tired as a two bit hooker" instead.

One bit
Two Bits
Three Bits
A dollar
All for Satoshi
...

You get the idea. I remember this during the prep rallies in high school--100 years ago.

~Bruno~

King of the Road, written and recorded in 1964.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_(money)

Captain Obvious here: for me bit means like byte, in the informatic sense

It is possible that no double entendre was intended.  As others have pointed out, the phrase is so uncommon people don't even recognize it when they use it ("two bit" being a phrase that pre-dates computers meaning small for its small monetary value ... A quarter). Perhaps Satoshi didn't think about how very appropriate the name was, but I'd like to think he did :)

 It could refer to the bit in the horse's mouth allowing you to take control of the unruly beast.

Or maybe Bitcoin was spelled incorrectly: Bitchin

And if a relic collector: BitChen

~Cackling Bear~

1/8
1/4
3/8
1

I don't get that progression, it must be some form of ancient math.

bit/bit/
Noun:   
1. A small piece, part, or quantity of something.
2. A mouthpiece, typically made of metal, that is attached to a bridle and used to control a horse.
3. A unit of information expressed as either a 0 or 1 in binary notation.

I think "two-bit" company does refer to the monetary "bit", but that's the only usage in that sense I can think of too. It's just a bit further obviously refers to "a small piece".

FWIW I think the 'bit' in bitcoin is strictly to indicate something technical. Most people think of "bits" to be the things used by computers, as in definition #3.

Perhaps I was hunting camel toes instead of listening to the cheer back in the day, for I believe I got it wrong. The progression is 2, 4, 6, 8, a dollar. Here's a 12 second video showing the cheer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ZgYM6gL9Y

~Bruno~

Drop the 8 and I'll accept it.

"Bits" were eighths of a dollar in the "New World" before the US created the current coins. Consequently, quarters were often referred to as "two-bits", hence, the phrase, "shave and a haircut: two-bits" meant the cost of a shave and a haircut was $0.25.

Ya, and what does a shave and haircut cost now? $15 or more maybe. Oh ya, go fiat go.

JFC! That's twice I got this wrong, and I'm setting here on the shitter crying, and musing why 13+ of my friends are ignoring me.

Now an image in the spirit of Team Gavin:

http://assets.diylol.com/hfs/71a/f77/801/resized/the-most-interesting-man-in-the-world-meme-generator-i-don-t-always-were-underwear-but-when-i-do-it-s-broncos-orange-149d75.jpg

I think it's an obvious reference to bittorrent because of p2p structure. Thought this since I first read about bitcoin

Obviously its because ♫ We put the bit in bitcoin ♪

http://content7.flixster.com/question/64/60/90/6460905_std.jpg

Way too funny...do we make Steve Gutenberg a star too? (Different episode)