Would bitcoins cease to function if the internet were destroyed.

[MBMGroup_Rep]

Would bitcoins cease to function if the internet were destroyed.

[achow101]

Of Course it would. Bitcoin is reliant on Computers and the internet. Without the internet and any way to network computers together, Bitcoin would not be able to function. Anything that is possible to destroy the internet like a solar flare would in the process also take out computers, so Bitcoin would not be able to work.

 Keep in mind that if the internet were destroyed, we would have much bigger problems.

[icezer0z]

I tell myself that bitcoin is not going away and it's here to stay, BUT yeah if the entire world loses connectivity with everyone in it (big EMP, disaster from space) then then the p2p wouldnt work.

As a backup. Some satellites will be launched soon I imagine within a decade at most.

[JeWay]

Yes it is, but it's nearly possible. Unless someone invented the new way to transfer some wave to a data

[Cs87kxy]

if blockchain could survive, (becoming an "hard" chain maybe hand written  ) bitcoin will survive and function as well.
even the creation of token (physically) can the same help.
but without internet there are a lot of problem much bigger than this one, and I think that it ceased to function only for this "strong" reason.

[btckold24]

if the internet was destroyed we would have alot more problems than bitcoin lol.
Everything in the world nowadays is tied to online.

[shorena]

It could stil work, the question is what exactly do you mean with internet and how it would be destoryed.

[unamis76]

Bitcoin is more dependent on p2p connections than on the internet itself. If we all could be connected directly through, as an example, bluetooth signals bridging each others computer we could have the blockchain functioning like it does today on the internet. In case of a catastrophe ways to communicate would definitely be discovered so Bitcoin working or not is more dependent on the will of people carrying on with the network. But yeah, no Internet would be a huge disservice to keep the network running in a healthy way

[cr1776]

It could stil work, the question is what exactly do you mean with internet and how it would be destoryed.

This.  You have to define "cease to function" and "destroyed".

For example, if the internet were destroyed, that would not necessarily mean bitcoin would cease to function.  Shorena and I could connect via Wifi and keep it going.  Ditto other people.  The blockchain would still exist, as more people joined our ad hoc network, it would spin back up.

[icezer0z]

if blockchain could survive, (becoming an "hard" chain maybe hand written  ) bitcoin will survive and function as well.
even the creation of token (physically) can the same help.
but without internet there are a lot of problem much bigger than this one, and I think that it ceased to function only for this "strong" reason.

Phew going on 50gb of data for the blockchain, that's a lot of writing lol

[virtualx]

Would bitcoins cease to function if the internet were destroyed.

It depends on what you mean by destroyed. Bitcoin transactions can be sent on any type of network. This is because a transaction will only take a few bytes. You could write a transaction on a postcard even 

[shorena]

It could stil work, the question is what exactly do you mean with internet and how it would be destoryed.

This.  You have to define "cease to function" and "destroyed".

For example, if the internet were destroyed, that would not necessarily mean bitcoin would cease to function.  Shorena and I could connect via Wifi and keep it going.  Ditto other people.  The blockchain would still exist, as more people joined our ad hoc network, it would spin back up.

Imagine the fork mess once all the local blockchains (e.g. city wide wifi based mesh networks for a few weeks) get reunited.

[Wapinter]

Would bitcoins cease to function if the internet were destroyed.

Yes thats true.Without internet Bitcoin cannot survive if we consider presently available technology.Maybe in future we might not need internet for Bitcoin to work

[xuan87]

Yes of course bitcoin is depends on internet to work

if the internet were destroyed all the connection to the bitcoin server will be lost

,its mean that if internet is destroyed we will lost all of our bitcoin money because we are storing our bitcoin in internet

[cr1776]

It could stil work, the question is what exactly do you mean with internet and how it would be destoryed.

This.  You have to define "cease to function" and "destroyed".

For example, if the internet were destroyed, that would not necessarily mean bitcoin would cease to function.  Shorena and I could connect via Wifi and keep it going.  Ditto other people.  The blockchain would still exist, as more people joined our ad hoc network, it would spin back up.

Imagine the fork mess once all the local blockchains (e.g. city wide wifi based mesh networks for a few weeks) get reunited.

It would be a mess, but it would survive. 

Although a scenario that destroys the internet, could cause many more problems that just bitcoin issues.

[btcdevil]

in my knowledge if internet get destroyed then i think not only bitcoins, but most of the work will also come to cease as most of the work today is going on internet, not only bitcoin but online marketing, sales and etc so many thinks. life would come to halt if internet is not their.

[virtualx]

in my knowledge if internet get destroyed then i think not only bitcoins, but most of the work will also come to cease as most of the work today is going on internet, not only bitcoin but online marketing, sales and etc so many thinks. life would come to halt if internet is not their.

True. Society is very dependent on technology these days. It's not just bits and bytes, people's lives depend on the Internet. Even with the bronze age money system (banking), the most valuable asset is their data-center.

[helloeverybody]

I cant see the internet being destroyed but i suppose we might be in trouble if a few of the major mining pools ll had power outages

[AgentofCoin]

Would bitcoins cease to function if the internet were destroyed.

I would just like to say that if the internet was destroyed,
more than just Bitcoin/bitcoin would cease to function.

Sadly, many people rely on the internet for almost all daily purposes now, including:

Knowledge ("googling"),
Banking ("paychecks & bills")
Relationships ("facebook,dating,family,friends,etc")
Purchases ("amazon,etc")
Communications ("skype,online phone,etc")

If the internet went "down", then a decent percentage of the modern world goes "down".

[watashi-kokoto]

bitcoin can work easily over telephone / satellite / radio / pidgeon network.

bitcoin will work in areas with electricity

only difficulty is: how to deliver blocks between these areas. In my opinion 1. radio 2. couriers with USB keys is the most likely.
 The coolest are pidgeons.

for a large worldwide disaster scenario:

those who survived will soon exit from bunkers or holes and sooner or later there will be electricity.
real question how long it would take?

 if only childs survived it will take some time until they invent electricity, radio etc