cash remains the only option if there's an emergency

[The Sceptical Chymist]

OP brings up a good example of bitcoin's dependence on 1) electricity and 2) connectivity.  Sure, we may or may not get a zombie apocalypse where you're going to need seeds and weapons, but there are plenty of more plausable disasters whereby the internet could go out.  Even temporarily.  Blizzards, lightning storms, even fucking vandalism.  In those cases, cash is king.  Absolutely.

[aarons6]

in a real emergency cash will be useless.. only things for trade is going to be the only option..
things to stock up on..

1, hard candy.. everyone loves candy.
2, candles.. no power = dark.. flashlights wont last long.
3, those tiny bottles of alcohol.. specially the clear ones.. they can be used for antiseptics.. they are flammable and can be used for pain relief.
4, drinkable water.. everyone needs water.. you cant live without it.
5, gasoline, kerosene, and oil.. gotta have fire to cook and heat. it makes starting fires easy.
6, cord wood.. or other flammables.. specially nice if you live on property with trees you can cut down.

nobody is going to trade tiny pieces of paper for things they need to keep to live..

[Kollor]

Bitcoin is not yet mainstream, few shops are accepting it as a payment, in some online shops you still have to convert it to cash before you could pay your orders and  during emergencies like blackout, no internet, bitcoin would be useless...That is why cash should always be on standby..

[hkla241]

Bitcoin is not yet mainstream, few shops are accepting it as a payment, in some online shops you still have to convert it to cash before you could pay your orders and  during emergencies like blackout, no internet, bitcoin would be useless...That is why cash should always be on standby..

bitcoins are no doubt, the simplest way and safest pay of payment, but still in case of emergency, they have a downvote. Let's understand it with an example. Suppose you are caught by traffic police for rash driving, and you are fined,..

[Rubberduckie]

I Dont have cash for emergency cause it can be stolen and used
without any safety net.

I have a credit card I only use for emergency and if it was stolen I would
get my money back etc..

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I Dont have cash for emergency cause it can be stolen and used
without any safety net.

I have a credit card I only use for emergency and if it was stolen I would
get my money back etc..

lol you might be missing the point a bit.  People here are talking about an emergency the size of Texas.  Armageddon.   Your puny credit card will do nothing.

[shintosai]

this one is true in real life and in any case scenario cash is the best option we have alternatives like credit card debit card and btc but in any how cash still the best option to use. many example has been brought out from the previous replies and many inputs but still in reality cash always have the advantage.

[nostal02]

In disaster or serious emergency, bitcoin and fiat is priceless.
People only looking goods such as food or water and they only accept barter or trade with other goods.

Money and bitcoin would really be held useless if there was a major global crisis that would happen,the value of food and water would really out price the money.

[KennyR]

In disaster or serious emergency, bitcoin and fiat is priceless.
People only looking goods such as food or water and they only accept barter or trade with other goods.

Money and bitcoin would really be held useless if there was a major global crisis that would happen,the value of food and water would really out price the money.

Food and water will out price the money, if such situation arise. But now at present commodities like gold, platinum helps at emergency as it has got common acceptance in exchange for cash.

[OROBTC]

I Dont have cash for emergency cause it can be stolen and used
without any safety net.

I have a credit card I only use for emergency and if it was stolen I would
get my money back etc..

lol you might be missing the point a bit.  People here are talking about an emergency the size of Texas.  Armageddon.   Your puny credit card will do nothing.

Obviously we are talking about different kinds of emergencies as well.  A "Katrina" type event will mean that credit cards cannot be used in such an event, at least in places with The Grid down.

There are other kinds of emergencies that can be imagined...:

1)   A financial collapse that leaves .gov and The Grid still up.  
1a) .gov decides to get Big & Bad and seize stuff.  Credit cards might then not work, nor ATMs, but CA$H would (for a while).
1b) TIME becomes a factor, the authorities might BAN taking capital (gold) out of the USA...

2)   The grid goes down...
2a) CA$H might work for a short while (so BUY supplies!), credit cards & BTC would not.  Then you are looking at water, Au & Ag, and ammo.
2b) If it is "the size of TX or larger" then water & food production becomes important.  The Pharmacist might want to stock up on drugs!

3)   Hillary becomes president and imposes a dictatorship.  Your BTC might become VERY valuable then as you can take BTC out easily...   


My point being that a DIVERSITY of holdings is probably best as we do not have any idea of what could happen.

[63854]

There's no form of currency that would work in every situation. TBH food and water would probably be the most valuable commodities if everything really went down, and when there isn't an emergency/societal meltdown it isn't really that useful as a currency as carrying tons of water and food all day long is simply inefficient. Every "currency" has its niche.

[RealBitcoin]

I have a friend in Cannes, France. You may not know anything about it, but there were terrible floods there 10 days ago.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34443189

My friend told me her landline phone still doesn't work. There are no phones and no Internet in most of downtown Cannes. Electricity has been fixed quite rapidly, but for 2 days, the mobile phone networks were down, so no bitcoin, and no credit cards either! All the shops couldn't handle any transactions.

The only thing which kept on working was the fiber optic network, I guess because that's the newest.

The whole thing was very local. Everything was fine a few km North, but this shall reminds us that if there's a serious emergency, cash is the only safe option.

Cash is good for emergency quick bartering, and temporary spending.

But if you want to restart your life after the emergency, you need to save your wealth in portable way.

Cash, gold coins, silver, copper, etc.. Is not portable.


Bitcoin is portable!

[Wapinter]

Yes because cash is accepted everywhere and is well known form of payment,it is the most suitable option in emergency situations.You won't have time to find a person who accept bitcoin in emergency and you obviously won't want to waste your time in all these in such urgency

[pawel7777]

I have a friend in Cannes, France. You may not know anything about it, but there were terrible floods there 10 days ago.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34443189

My friend told me her landline phone still doesn't work. There are no phones and no Internet in most of downtown Cannes. Electricity has been fixed quite rapidly, but for 2 days, the mobile phone networks were down, so no bitcoin, and no credit cards either! All the shops couldn't handle any transactions.

The only thing which kept on working was the fiber optic network, I guess because that's the newest.

The whole thing was very local. Everything was fine a few km North, but this shall reminds us that if there's a serious emergency, cash is the only safe option.

That wouldn't be a major issue in tight, local communities, where people know each other. They could just settle payments later.