It’s a debate as old as Bitcoin itself: How can the world’s first cryptocurrency achieve true mass adoption? While the Bitcoin community focuses on improving user experience (UX), rolling out custody solutions, battling legislators, and onboarding institutions, core Bitcoin developer and CEO of Synonym John Carvalho has proposed a simpler solution: deprecate satoshis and remove the decimals to “reduce the cognitive load.”

Changing satoshi for bitcoin may improve the user experience

In a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) released in December 2024, Carvalho argues that eliminating the term ‘satoshi’ and removing the decimal points by changing satoshi for bitcoin would have a dual benefit: making Bitcoin easier to understand and removing unit bias, both key to attracting new users.

Currently, one bitcoin is made up of 100 million tiny pieces called “base units” or satoshis, which cannot be divided further. Carvalho’s proposal suggests redefining “bitcoin” to refer to this smallest unit. Under this system, what we now call “1 bitcoin” would instead be referred to as “100 million bitcoins.”

For example, a transaction currently displayed as 0.00010000 BTC would become 10,000 bitcoins in the new system, and 10.23486 BTC would be displayed as 1,023,486,000 bitcoins, redefining the concept of bitcoin millionaires.

Bitcoiners are notoriously resistant to change

Bitcoin’s history is filled with contentious debates, from the block size wars to SegWit and the ongoing arguments over NFTs on the blockchain. Unsurprisingly, Carvalho’s proposal has met considerable resistance since its introduction at the end of last year. Podcast host Stephan Livera mocked the idea on X, likening it to calling each slice of pizza a whole pizza:

“Hey, I have this great idea! Instead of one pizza with eight slices, let’s call each slice a pizza. Just make sure when you go to order your pizza, you order eight pizzas now instead of one. Just my two pizzas.”

Viral Bits founder Daniel Sempere Pico joked:

“I love how triggered people get by your proposal,”

While other community members voiced concerns about changing the total supply from 21 million to 2.1 quadrillion bitcoins, seeing the original supply as a core principle of Bitcoin’s identity.

“Personally, I’m not interested in changing the supply from 21m to 2.1 quadrillion. In the infinite sea of shitcoins and the unlimited flood of fiat, 21 million bitcoin is a statement, a middle finger to monetary debasement.”

Make satoshi bitcoin again

There may be a slim chance that Carvalho’s proposal is growing on people, as he posted on X on April 25, 2025:

“It’s still a minority, but a lot more people are becoming interested in the idea of calling the base units of Bitcoin bitcoins, and removing the decimal.”

Carvalho appears to be on an all-out campaign, borrowing Trump’s MAGA slogan and filling his X page with pictures of well-known figures from the global economic community, including Satoshi, Klaus Schwab, and Ursula von der Leyen donning red caps with the slogan “Make Satoshi Bitcoin Again.”

Whether the proposal gathers more momentum remains to be seen. But the ongoing debate highlights how even the most minimal of adjustments could make Bitcoin more palatable to the masses.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it will no longer pursue criminal cases against crypto exchanges, developers, or users involved in regulatory violations.

This follows the disbanding of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), a specialized unit that focused on crypto-related criminal activities.

A Shift In Focus

In a memo sent to DOJ staff on Monday night, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the directive was effective immediately. The document was later shared via a Tuesday X post by Amanda Tuminelli, executive director of the DeFi Education Fund, a crypto lobbying group.

Blanche highlighted that the agency would no longer use its resources to control digital assets through criminal prosecution. “The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator,” he stated, adding that the previous administration’s “reckless strategy of regulation by prosecution” was ill-conceived and poorly executed.

The memo also explained that the DOJ would stop pursuing litigation or enforcement actions involving crypto exchanges, mixing services, and offline wallets for the actions of their end users or any unintentional regulatory violations.

Specifically, staff were instructed not to charge regulatory violations, such as those tied to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), unlicensed money transmission, or violations of federal securities and commodities laws in crypto-related cases.

Instead, the agency will now focus its efforts on prosecuting individuals who victimize digital asset investors or use cryptocurrency for criminal activities like terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and financial fraud.

The official also ordered the closure of ongoing investigations that do not align with this new policy. The DOJ will collaborate with its criminal division to ensure consistent enforcement.

NCET’s Involvement in High-Profile Crypto Cases

The NCET had been involved in several major crypto cases, including the prosecution of Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based mixing service.

In 2023, the DOJ arrested Roman Storm, one of the platform’s developers, on charges of money laundering and sanctions violations. The case caused controversy, with Storm arguing that the platform did not intentionally aid criminal actors due to it being a permissionless service.

Another notable case involved the Samourai Wallet, a privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet accused of enabling unlicensed money transmission. Despite the product being a non-custodial service that does not control user funds, lawmakers claimed that its coin-mixing features were used to conceal illicit transactions.

This is not the first time a federal crypto task force has been disbanded under the current administration. In January, following an executive order by President Trump, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also downsized its crypto-focused enforcement teams. This left only two groups to handle digital asset-related matters.

The cryptocurrency unit of the American financial services company Robinhood is now in the clear as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed its investigation into the business.

According to a blog post by Robinhood, the SEC revealed in a letter dated February 21 that it had wrapped up its investigation into the firm’s crypto operations and did not intend to bring any enforcement action against the company.

SEC Closes Investigation Against Robinhood

Recall that the SEC hit Robinhood with a Wells Notice in May 2024, indicating a threat of legal action over the firm’s alleged securities violations.

CryptoPotato reported that Robinhood had allegedly violated Sections 15(a) and 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which prohibited the company from inducing the sale of securities unless registered with the SEC and defrauding customers of their money through material omissions or misstatements.

Possible remedies for the charges, if filed, included disgorgement, civil money penalties, a cease-and-desist order, and limitations on activities. The Wells Notice came 15 months after the SEC sent an investigative subpoena to Robinhood regarding its crypto operations.

While responding to the agency’s actions last year, Robinhood said it was disappointed because it had made attempts to register its business and comply with the agency’s regulations. Regardless, the company insisted that the SEC’s case was weak because the assets on its platform were not securities.

In the recent blog post announcing the Commission’s latest decision, Robinhood maintained that it had made difficult choices to delist certain assets classified as securities under the former SEC chair Gary Gensler, even though it disagreed with the argument that most crypto transactions were subject to federal securities laws.

Robinhood Maintains Innocence

Nevertheless, the company acknowledged the transition from a period of regulation by enforcement to a time of “regulation by regulation.” Crypto market participants will be provided with a clear regulatory framework, as promised by President Donald Trump during his election campaign.

“We applaud the staff’s decision to close this investigation with no action. Let me be crystal clear—this investigation never should have been opened. Robinhood Crypto always has and will always respect federal securities laws and never allowed transactions in securities,” Robinhood’s chief legal officer Dan Gallagher said, adding “As we explained to the SEC, any case against Robinhood Crypto would have failed.”

Meanwhile, Robinhood is not the only crypto company getting pardoned by the SEC. The securities agency has paused its lawsuit against the crypto exchange Binance and intends to withdraw a similar case against the trading platform Coinbase.

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