XBT to mean uBTC (or was it mBTC) is the worst idea ever. There is nothing useful in the name that is going to help you remember what portion of a bitcoin it is.

I think we should use mBTC for 1/1000 of a BTC. and it can be abbreviated in speech as "millcoin".

Transition should occur sometime after 1 BTC = $1000.

The whole unit change seems so disruptive and difficult to coordinate now -- do we really want to have to deal with another one later when there are way more people to try to coordinate? I really think we should look to the endgame and figure out where we want to be.

I'd propose moving to uB (micro-bitcoin = 1e-6) as the standard unit now and forever. For now, it can be referred to as uB or uBTC, but over time, once it's ubiquitous, it should just be called a bitcoin. Because the smallest unit is the satoshi (1e-8), this means uB-denominated prices would get 2 decimal places maximum, which is the most that any consumer wants to deal with anyway.

At the same time, I'd propose inverting the exchange rate, so instead of quoting uB/USD = .00013, it would be quoted as USD/uB = 7692. This is exactly the same way Yen are quoted relative to USD (USDJPY = 100.66), and is also the same way other private virtual currencies such as WoW gold are quoted.

Amen. Think about the end game now, otherwise we'll have the same problem 5 years from now with mBTC. Besides, when bitcoin started out, the exchange rate was BTC10,000 2 pizzas. We can live with it for a while.

No.

We want mass adoption and adding a "milli" to the name just at a time when most people identify Bitcoin as, "That crazy internet bubble the geeks got stung by" is not going to help its image in my opinion.

Just call an mBTC something ELSE, a bit less geeky.

GB in green? Hmmm...

Does this detail matter in the large picture?

Fact is, Bitcoin is supposed to be an international currency, and we have nearly the whole world population using the metric system.

Cyprus, China, Argentina, all the countries Bitcoiners are so hyped about use the metric system.

USA and UK will have to adapt, not the other way around.

I completely agree that we should use metric prefixes for BTC. I don't like metric MEASUREMENTS, but it works for Bitcoin. Hell, even the US Dollar uses them.

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No, but I am suggesting that the US  should continue to use Fahrenheit; there's no reason to switch.

This whole discussion is getting really off track, I brought it up sort of tounge in cheek (although my arguments are mostly real). Please, back to Bitcoin!

I think metric prefixes are a better fit for Bitcoin. Otherwise we have to argue over arbitrary names. Slang will develop over time, but the official names should remain SI

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Too ambiguous given they are already used by USD.

Our startup will be calling the mBTC a "bit", and using the symbol below.

Let the market decide.  Would your mother rather own a "mBTC" or a "Bit"?  a mBTC is a just a group of letters to a layman.  A Bit is something that gives life to the unit.  If bitcoins were called oTDC's, or "OogleToadcoins, how interested would a layman be in owning them, as opposed to branding them "bitcoins"?  Because to a layman, you might as well call a MilliBitcoin an OogleToadcoin. Sometimes I think we live with tunnel vision in bitcoin land, in ignoring the larger picture.  So unless our goal is to remain an exclusive club and disregard laymen, I think "bit" is the logical choice.



Also, there is a perfect unicode symbol that already exists (U+0180) ƀ