cash remains the only option if there's an emergency

[countryfree]

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.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

If there is a real emergency or some sort of epidemic then even cash is useless. I'd be moving with my Glock, that'd be the only way to survive

[pereira4]

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.

Well, I wonder how situations like this would be deal with in the future once the governments finally get rid of physical cash and only issue "electronic" closed source money, so to speak. What will happen then? I wish there was a way to have "physical bitcoins" as an emergency temporal fix like that but it seems pointless.

[franky1]

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" that needs to be taken out an ATM. which is a problem if card readers in shops and banks are not working..

in case of disaster, favours, gold, valuables or sexual favours is the safe option. dont rely on cash as one day even france may drop the euro overnight.

[mexxer-2]

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.

You're just using one specific example to demonstrate a broad topic, catastrophes happen. And lastly, your cash may flow and be useless but your bitcoins are always safe in the blockchain(if you remember the private key to recover them that is)

[Amph]

with the future google satellite internet connection, i'm sure there will no be excuse about not having internet

this is not even an issue, unless he was desperately to buy foods or something medical, i'm sure for any other thing you can wait two days

[HeroCat]

Yes, that's true. For example, if there are not any electricity in the area, you can not withdraw any cash, because bank ATM will not work 

[tiggytomb]

I agree somewhat, depending on the scale of the disaster.  If it is something that renders society as we know it over as in no electricity, food then even cash would be useless, I'm talking end of the world scenarios.

In smaller cases cash is the easiest and quickest route to help if you have the physical cash with you and it wasn't destroyed along with all your belongings and ID.  Bitcoin however even in these circumstances will always be there secure in your wallet.

[Betwrong]

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.

You're just using one specific example to demonstrate a broad topic, catastrophes happen. And lastly, your cash may flow and be useless but your bitcoins are always safe in the blockchain(if you remember the private key to recover them that is)

Yes, they are but if you ned to buy food right now they are useless.

However, I hope that in the near future two-way satellite internet will be affordable to anyone and then Bitcoins might be helpful in the situation mentioned above.

[Mickeyb]

If there is a real emergency or some sort of epidemic then even cash is useless. I'd be moving with my Glock, that'd be the only way to survive

Exactly this! From time to time, nature reminds us who is the real boss and that in these situations, all of our technological innovation and things that facilitate our lives are pretty much useless. Even the cash of yours that you are mentioning.

In the situations like those, we don't need anything except a humble reminder that we are lucky to live another day on this planet. So no biggie if credit cards and Bitcoin were useless!

[LiteCoinGuy]

good old cash.

[gentlemand]

My tight buns are all the currency I need when the world ends.

Everything other than that needed to defend or sustain life is an abstract irrelevance in a full on collapse. All those gold stackers will get just as much of rude awakening as the space cadets trying to trade their paper wallet for some antibiotics after their cock's gone green.

[n2004al]

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.

For this reason and for this vantage that cash has needed the physical form of bitcoin. If can be realized this there will be not any other thing that bitcoin cannot make. It will be superior in every way from every kind of payment and tool which realize this kind of action.

[avatar_kiyoshi]

Bitcoin wallet for android app is will solve this case https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=278237.0

[neurotypical]

Bitcoin wallet for android app is will solve this case https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=278237.0

Mobile networks were down if you read the OP, now what could solve this could be funded suisses bitcoin notes, I have read that these have been used previously but without the ability to check even the public key it seems very difficult to make transactions or change.

The only thing I see is emergency windup radios, there is a group out of Finland dealing bitcoin over radio and the second is solar and hand crank mobile chargers and doing offline transactions between mobile phones which are charged via non grid methods.

A meshnet could also possibly work if it somehow was able to connect far enough to have someone who also was able to connect to the internet and broadcast the transaction.

Bitcoin notes thing seem cool. Just have a public master key in QR format so you can give it to people and this key will generate a new different key each time someone pays you (so you don't have to carry around 1 note per different address). Even tho I don't understand how the actual transaction would be done.. it's of tricky. You can't confirm anything without electricity.

About meshnet etc.. what if everything (every electronic device) was damaged?

[Cereberus]

good old cash.

Those are some stacks of cash those kids are playing around with 
In other words: Cash is king! 

[Corealz]

Yes cash is the easiest way to buy stuff. If shtf then food and wanter would also be valuable.

[gentlemand]

So an EMP attack? If such thing were to happen I think cash would be the least of the worries since most is digital anyways (bank accounts and what not) and especially few carry cash I think food, water, ammunition and only possibly bullion would be the new monetary trade.

I think anything that wasn't directly involved in keeping you alive would become a total irrelevance. If I had a big bag full of surplus fresh meat and veg and one guy is offering a gold bar and the other guy a pile of lighters, candles and ammunition, gold boy is getting told where to stick it. I'd have to find some other mug willing to play along with the fantasy that it would actually be of use to them.

[chennan]

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.

Well, I wonder how situations like this would be deal with in the future once the governments finally get rid of physical cash and only issue "electronic" closed source money, so to speak. What will happen then? I wish there was a way to have "physical bitcoins" as an emergency temporal fix like that but it seems pointless.

Well, there are "physical bitcoins" now.. but they aren't really meant to be for spending and trading, just more like a collectors item. 

[gentlemand]

Well I take into account possibly for countryside where an emp wouldn't change as much as they're prepared for, think farmers they have wells full of water as do much of the people living there, they have plenty of crops and livestock. They probably would be willing to trade 20 ears of corn for an ounce of gold.

The amish I assume would prosper lol.

Much depends on the time frame and whether it looked like a permanent downfall, but the countryside would quickly be overrun by city dwellers with zero resources looking for juicy farmers. How long would stocks in a city last under the circumstances? Society's only 3-4 skipped meals away from anarchy. If it was a hiccup and the unfried world was on its way to help out I guess it wouldn't be so desperate. It's easy to underestimate how quickly people turn feral when there's a whiff of desperation.