Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin => Bitcoin Discussion => Topic started by: Jimmy905 on November 30, 2017, 11:59:14 AM



Title: Can you purchase less than a token share?
Post by: Jimmy905 on November 30, 2017, 11:59:14 AM
Hi there.  Just wondering if it was possible to buy less than a share in bit coin like half a share or something like that? If anybody could let me know, I would appreciate that.


Title: Re: Can you purchase less than a token share?
Post by: HeRetiK on November 30, 2017, 12:23:27 PM
Hi there.  Just wondering if it was possible to buy less than a share in bit coin like half a share or something like that? If anybody could let me know, I would appreciate that.

Bitcoin currently has 8 decimal places, so yes, you can buy fractions of a bitcoin. 8 decimal places puts the smallest possible amount of Bitcoin at 0.00000001 BTC, but in practice anything less than 0.001 BTC is currently impractical to transact. If you buy on an exchange, accounting for withdrawal fees, the lower practical bound would probably be at around 0.01 BTC.

More detailed explanation here:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Help:FAQ#How_divisible_are_bitcoins.3F


Title: Re: Can you purchase less than a token share?
Post by: bear100 on November 30, 2017, 12:26:23 PM
Hi there.  Just wondering if it was possible to buy less than a share in bit coin like half a share or something like that? If anybody could let me know, I would appreciate that.
Yes, you can buy not the whole Bitcoin, but some part of it. But be careful about the transaction fees. The more you pay the fee, the less time transaction needs to be mined.
I heard about one guy, who wanted to test the Bitcoin and sent 10,000 Satoshi. And the full amount was taken by miners) :D


Title: Re: Can you purchase less than a token share?
Post by: Emoclaw on November 30, 2017, 05:12:18 PM
Hi there.  Just wondering if it was possible to buy less than a share in bit coin like half a share or something like that? If anybody could let me know, I would appreciate that.

Bitcoin currently has 8 decimal places, so yes, you can buy fractions of a bitcoin. 8 decimal places puts the smallest possible amount of Bitcoin at 0.00000001 BTC, but in practice anything less than 0.001 BTC is currently impractical to transact. If you buy on an exchange, accounting for withdrawal fees, the lower practical bound would probably be at around 0.01 BTC.

More detailed explanation here:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Help:FAQ#How_divisible_are_bitcoins.3F
I should also add that it is possible to add more decimal places to bitcoin in the future with a protocol upgrade. This is not necessary at all right now but it will be in the future should Bitcoin's price really soar. There will theoretically come a point where 1 satoshi (0.00000001 BTC) will be too expensive for day-to-day use, thus making such an upgrade necessary.