What is Wei?

Wei, the smallest denomination of ether on the Ethereum network, is named after Wei Dai, a prominent figure in the early development of cryptocurrency.

What is Wei?

Wei is the tiniest part of Ethereum’s cryptocurrency, Ether. It’s used for very small measurements and transactions in the Ethereum network. One Ether is equal to a lot of Weis—1 followed by 18 zeros.

Key Aspects:

1.Wei Definition: One ether is equivalent to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 wei (10^18). In simpler terms, one wei is one quintillionth of an ether.

2.Comparison to Bitcoin: Wei is to ether as satoshi is to bitcoin—both represent the smallest units from which a user can make a transaction.

3.Divisibility in Cryptocurrency: While a U.S. dollar is divisible into 100 pennies, cryptocurrencies can be divided into much smaller units. Wei is the atomic unit of ether, allowing precise representation of even tiny fractions of the cryptocurrency.

Units of Ether:

– wei: 

1 wei = 1 (10^-18 ETH)

– kwei:

1 kwei = 1,000 (10^-15 ETH)

– mwei:

1 mwei = 1,000,000 (10^-12 ETH)

– gwei: 

1 gwei = 1,000,000,000 (10^-9 ETH)

– microether: 

1 microether = 1,000,000,000,000 (10^-6 ETH)

– milliether: 

1 milliether = 1,000,000,000,000,000 (10^-3 ETH)

– ether: 

1 ether = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1 ETH)

Wei’s Origin:

Named After Wei Dai:

Wei Dai, a cryptography activist and a key member of the cypherpunk movement in the 1990s, is honored by having the smallest unit of ether named after him.

Contributions:

Wei Dai’s contributions include being an original member of the cypherpunk movement and laying the foundation for “smart contracts” in his cryptocurrency manifesto for bmoney.