You’ve probably heard about bitcoin’s smallest unit, the satoshi (or sat for short). But did you know that some sats are rarer than others? 

Yep, even within Bitcoin’s world of digital fungibility, there’s room for uniqueness. And the rarer a satoshi is, the more valuable rare sat collectors consider it.

If you’re curious about rare satoshis and how to get your hands on them, we wrote this as a guide to help you figure out how to go about it.

What Are Rare Satoshis?

Each bitcoin has 100 million satoshis. While most of these satoshis have nothing in particular that differentiates them from one another besides ownership, a few have unique qualities.

That’s how you end up with rare satoshis. 

A rare satoshi, or rare sat, is a tiny piece of bitcoin that’s special because of how it came to be. For example, it could be the first satoshi mined in a new block or a satoshi that is part of the first block after a halving.

Why Are Rare Satoshis Valuable?

Rare sats hold historical significance, often giving them sentimental value. 

But collecting rare sats isn’t just about owning a piece of Bitcoin’s history. It’s also about the thrill of the hunt. 

The experience is similar to looking for and owning rare physical coins or pieces of art. Those with the largest and most valuable collections gain recognition within the community. The scarcity of these assets also makes them useful for speculation.

Understand the Types of Rare Sats

There are several different types of rare and uncommon satoshis you can collect. Here’s the list: 

• Common Sats make up the vast majority of all Bitcoin transactions. A common satoshi is any sat that doesn’t have a special mining order or historical significance. They’re fungible and treated like any other Bitcoin unit. 
• Uncommon sats are the first sat of each Bitcoin block. Since each block is mined roughly every 10 minutes, these sats are scarcer than common sats but still relatively plentiful in the grand scheme of Bitcoin’s supply. 
• Rare sats are the first sat of each difficulty adjustment period (every 2,016 blocks, or approximately every two weeks). These sats are significantly scarcer than uncommon sats, as only one is created per adjustment period. 
• Epic sats are the first satoshi of each halving epoch. Since Bitcoin halvings occur approximately every four years, only one epic sat is produced per halving event, making them extremely scarce and highly coveted among collectors. 
• Legendary sats are the first sat of each cycle, which occurs when Bitcoin’s issuance undergoes a major transformation—typically tied to major protocol-level changes or events with historical significance. These are among the rarest sats in existence. 
• Mythic sats are the pinnacle of sat rarity, mythic satoshis are unique, often tied to the genesis block or other once-in-a-lifetime Bitcoin events. These sats are essentially one-of-a-kind and hold immense historical and collector value.

How to Hunt for Rare Satoshis

Hunting for rare sats requires more than just a basic Bitcoin wallet. You’ll need specialized tools and platforms to identify, track, acquire, and store them. 

Here are some essential tools you need:

Get a Bitcoin Wallet with Rare Sats Support

You need a Bitcoin wallet that supports rare sats to securely store them. However, not all Bitcoin wallets are designed for rare sat hunters. 

When looking for a wallet for rare sats, settle on one that allows you to perform the following functions:

• Track sat provenance.
• View individual sats within a transaction.
• Segregate rare sats for collection.

Xverse is a great option for beginners.

Trace Provenance

When you receive bitcoin, you get a ton of satoshis. Use a wallet or blockchain explorer to trace the provenance of your sats. If you’re lucky, you might already own a rare sat and not even know it. 

Of course, as more people know about rare sats and their value, it will be harder over time to run into rare sats in ordinary bitcoin transactions.

Tools like Magic Eden’s rare sats explorer are user-friendly and designed explicitly for rare sat traders and collectors.

Marketplaces

Finding rare sats is half the fun. The other half is being able to speculate about them, and that means having the opportunity to sell them when you think the price is right.

Rare sats can be bought, sold, or traded on dedicated marketplaces. Magic Eden’s rare satoshis marketplace is a great place to start. 

Secure Your Rare Satoshis

Once you’ve acquired a rare sat, it’s crucial to store it securely. The choice of wallet is critical. For the best security, use hardware wallets like Ledger, which ensure your sats are stored offline and protected from hacks.

Also, don’t forget to backup your keys. Losing your private keys means losing access to your sats. Ideally, you should store backups in multiple secure locations.

Bottom Line

Rare sat collecting is still in its infancy, but its potential is clear. As more people learn about and value these unique sats, their demand and prices could potentially increase significantly. 

But with all things crypto, do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.