Is there any connection between 1 bit = 1/8 dollar and 1 bit = 1/8 byte?

I always thought the 1/8 ratio of bit/dollar was the inspiration for the bit/byte naming scheme, but I can't seem to find any evidence for this in my admittedly limited research.

Wikipedia claims that the bit stands for Binary digIT, which would mean that either that's a bacronym (since I assume 8 bits/byte wass chosen for a reason other than an analogy to currency).

Is this just a weird coincidence?

Solution 1:

According to Etymonline the computer related term bit is the short for “binary digit” but the choice of this word may have been influenced by its more original meaning.

Bit:

small piece," c. 1200; related Old English bite.

Money sense "small coin" in two bits, etc. is originally from the U.S. South and the West Indies, in reference to silver wedges cut or stamped from Spanish dollars (later Mexican reals); transferred to "eighth of a dollar."

Bit : computerese word,

1948, coined by U.S. computer pioneer John W. Tukey, an abbreviation of binary digit, probably chosen for its identity with bit.