Bitcoin Atoms

Discover the current whereabouts of Bitcoin Atoms.

Atoms are created, numbered, and transferred according to a few simple rules:

• Every new block creates an atom as an implicit input to the coinbase transaction, similar to the block subsidy.

• Atoms are numbered according to the height of the block in which they were created. The atom created in the genesis block is atom 0, the next atom 1, and so forth.

• Atoms are carried by coins.

• Atoms are transferred when the coins carrying them are used as inputs to a transaction. In the absence of a specially crafted transaction, they move deterministically to output coins proportionately to the value of each coin. A specially crafted apportion transaction allows the owner of atoms to apportion them to output coins at will. However, the precise form of apportion transactions has been lost to history. Hopefully it will soon be rediscovered.

• Atoms can be transmuted. Atoms start out devoid of character, aside from their number. However, they are Promethean. The owner of an atom may change its character with the transmute operation, associating a 256 bit number with it. This might be the SHA-256 hash of an image, thus creating an NFT. However, we all know that humans are chaotic and inventive. Powerful new uses for atoms may as yet be undiscovered, lurking now merely as phantoms in the heads of heretics. The precise mechanism of transmute has not been discovered. Speculation on this matter is welcome.

  Transmutation may be repeated, if the old form of an atom has become tiresome. Thus do scarce atoms seek their best and highest use.

Atoms have many nice properties:

• Fair: Atoms are not premined or minted arbitrarily. Atoms are awarded to miners, just like bitcoin itself.

• Decentralized: Since atoms have been created in every block, including the genesis block, and without intention, they are distributed among existing coin holders proportionally to their holdings.

• Scarce: As of midnight, December 12th, 2021, there are 713,802 atoms, and only 144 more will be created every day. This is quite a bit more than a few, but quite a bit less than the untold billions of digital assets being churned out of the vast VC-funded forges.

• Precedented: They are similar in spirit to something that Satoshi included in Bitcoin, but removed before launch.

• Security enhancing: Since new atoms go to miners, they contribute to Bitcoin's security budget, and the more use humans have of atoms, the greater that contribution. Since one atom is created per block, with no halving, they will continue to contribute to Bitcoin's security budget long after the block subsidy dwindles to zero.

• Voluntary: A coin holder can ignore atoms completely if they so choose, aside from seeing a few inscrutable transmute and apportion transactions on chain.

• Natural: Atoms are a natural extension to Bitcoin, mimicing Bitcoin's rules and incentives.