What are sats?
A sat is one hundred millionth of a bitcoin. Outsat ranks in sats. The unit, the math, and why Lightning uses it.
A sat (satoshi) is the smallest unit of bitcoin. 100,000,000 sats = 1 BTC. The board, the invoice, and the rank are all sats.
You don't need a whole coin to sit. You need a Lightning wallet and enough sats to cover the amount you pick.
The math
- 1 bitcoin — 100,000,000 sats
- 0.01 bitcoin — 1,000,000 sats
- 1,000 sats — the smallest sit on this board
- 1 sat — the smallest bitcoin unit
Outsat's floor is 1,000 sats. Steps are 1,000 sats. On the board, once a seat hits 1,000,000 sats (0.01 BTC) we show BTC instead of a long sat count. Same money. Different label.
Why not dollars
Dollars are a price someone else publishes. Sats are the unit the invoice settles. A sit is a Lightning payment that cleared — not a card hold, not an FX quote.
That's why this site is not Outbid (dollars) and not ads (a rented CPC). Rank is sats paid. About.
Why Lightning uses sats
On-chain bitcoin is clumsy for a thousand-sat sit. Fees can eat the payment. Blocks take minutes.
Lightning moves bitcoin over channels. The invoice is still bitcoin. Settlement is seconds. Fees are usually a fraction of a sat. That's the only rail Outsat takes.
How many sats to sit
- Empty board: 1,000 sats takes #1.
- Someone is already up there: 1,000 more than the lead takes the top seat.
- Less still lands. Rank is the total on that host, not the last bid.
- Same host stacks. Pay again, sats add.
Want the dollar label? Sats to USD uses the live price. House limits: rules. Questions: FAQ.