Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: Bitcoin to USD formula?
by
againey
on 03/06/2011, 02:10:57 UTC
no I mean as in if I have 0.08 BTC in my wallet (Which I do) and 1 BTC is worth $10.50, how much is 0.08 BTC? How did you get the answer?

Physics class taught me how to do nearly all unit conversions.  First, start with the ratio of one unit to another and represent it as a fraction, with the desired unit on top:

Code:
10.50 USD
---------
 1.00 BTC

Then multiply that fraction by the value you currently know over a unitless 1:

Code:
10.50 USD   0.08 BTC
--------- * --------
 1.00 BTC      1

The units that you start with will cancel out, since one is on top and the other on bottom.  You'll be left with just the unit type you want.

Code:
10.50 USD   0.08
--------- * ----
  1.00       1

Now actually do the math, and you have your value:

Code:
10.50 USD   0.08
--------- * ---- = 10.50 USD * 0.08 = 0.84 USD
  1.00       1