Solar Superstorm | Impact on the internet and Bitcoin.

[tjtonmoy]

Image Source

I was browsing through the internet and came across this video talking about solar superstorms. It was published in 2021 but I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss about. [video link unavailable. Unable to provide source or the video.] When a solar superstorm happens, the power grids will face the most impact. This could cause power outages for months. And it will happen worldwide. Every country, every state, everywhere. There's no escape. It will also heavily impact the submarine line that will make internet access unusable. So in case even if you have reserved electricity like in a power bank, that will be unable to help you to get access to the internet.

Bitcoin ecosystem or blockchain whatever you want to call it, runs on the internet. Without the internet, everything will fall apart. It will be safe till the internet is back on but when it is offline, what would happen? There aren't any ways that we can tackle this situation. Now many of us put all our life earnings into Bitcoin despite hearing that "invest only what you can afford to lose". If any of you reading this post, what's your thought on this? What should our alternative plan be if this occurs? Also, can we speculate what the aftermath should be for Bitcoin?

[1715045350]

1715045350

[1715045350]

1715045350

[franky1]

unlike the 1800's solar storm, where old copper wires charged and sparked. these days the internet is fibre optic which is solar storm safe, so less need to replace all internet cabling.

however the network points of ISP/DNS servers will have (due to them being 24/7 switched on). only 8minutes to switch off(brown out) and unplug before a storm hits, so a brown out can save some server infrastructure, to prevent a full # month blackout

same with other things.

the real fear is(worse of worse case) server farms wont have enough replacement parts in-house to swap burned out boards to get back to work in a short time. and if the manufacturers of boards didnt brown out to prevent damage. then the manufacturers would need to fix their own machines before manufacturing replacement boards for server farms.. which is why they say a blackout can be upto # months

[alastantiger]

A similar topic has already been discussed just some months ago... What if the internet permanently shuts down, What will happen to Bitcoin Network if the internet shuts down?. The answer still remains almost the same if you go through the threads. I do not think there will be any different reply.

[tjtonmoy]

A similar topic has already been discussed just some months ago... What if the internet permanently shuts down, What will happen to Bitcoin Network if the internet shuts down?. The answer still remains almost the same if you go through the threads. I do not think there will be any different reply.

They are not both the same. I am talking about natural disasters that will prevent internet usage for a limited time. After that, it will be back. I want to know what people will do in that period of time. And what the future will look like for Bitcoin after this is over. I don't know how you see similarities in these topics. They are talking about losing access to the internet permanently while I am talking about a limited-time power outage. Do you understand now? Or should I explain a bit more?

Feel free to ask anything. I am here to answer.

[nakamura12]

There's also a discussion about making an alarm system that give warning before the solar superstorm hits if ever it happen. I forgot the website where I have read it when I make search about solar superstorm as it is being broadcasted in radio news in mt country about what may happen if earth is hit by it. I agree with the post above that the answer would be the same as the other thread provided in the post above. Well, people won't be able to use it since you need internet for us to be able to send, receive and trade but the data won't be erased because it is stored in a computer all around the world which it is being downloaded or shared to all those who runs a node. it's obvious that no one can use Bitcoin until the internet is restored if it happens. I think for the price is it won't change since there's no change in its demand and supply since there's no miner and no Bitcoiners.

[franky1]

There's also a discussion about making an alarm system that give warning before the solar superstorm hits if ever it happen.

isnt that the sort of thing the government caused most phones in US/UK to adopt.. the "emergency alert" system that US/UK have

[Mate2237]

First of all thanks for bringing this to our attention we know that light or electricity is the holder of everything in the world now. And we all depend on it. The Satellite uses the solar system to power itself so if the solar grids have an issue, then it will definitely affect every corner in the world. But we have not experienced such reaction from the solar system in the world. well, if such issue occurred then the businesses in the whole world will be affect and not only bitcoin. But your bitcoins in the wallet will not be affected and only the transactions will be stopped.

[franky1]

First of all thanks for bringing this to our attention we know that light or electricity is the holder of everything in the world now. And we all depend on it. The Satellite uses the solar system to power itself so if the solar grids have an issue, then it will definitely affect every corner in the world. But we have not experienced such reaction from the solar system in the world. well, if such issue occurred then the businesses in the whole world will be affect and not only bitcoin. But your bitcoins in the wallet will not be affected and only the transactions will be stopped.

if your computer is on. the chips can get fried..
paper backup your key.. (should do that anyway for all other risks the world can throw at you)

[Bananington]

I do not think that the solar flare would last as much as our dear Op has made it seem, but it is paramount to adhere to any tips that would ensure the safety of ones wallet and crypto asset nonetheless.
Am sure not only the decentralized network would be affected but as well as internet banking, transactions between P2p and withdrawals and the exchanged where the purchase of cryptos is made possible.

Thanks for the tip though, but I believe our technology has been equipped or is equipped to counter any resulting effects from that solar storm about to happen.

[TheEndOne]

https://i.postimg.cc/Kcs4WSqG/issue20-solar-superstorms-and-their-effects-on-earth.jpg

Image Source

I was browsing through the internet and came across this video talking about solar superstorms. It was published in 2021 but I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss about. [video link unavailable. Unable to provide source or the video.] When a solar superstorm happens, the power grids will face the most impact. This could cause power outages for months. And it will happen worldwide. Every country, every state, everywhere. There's no escape. It will also heavily impact the submarine line that will make internet access unusable. So in case even if you have reserved electricity like in a power bank, that will be unable to help you to get access to the internet.

Bitcoin ecosystem or blockchain whatever you want to call it, runs on the internet. Without the internet, everything will fall apart. It will be safe till the internet is back on but when it is offline, what would happen? There aren't any ways that we can tackle this situation. Now many of us put all our life earnings into Bitcoin despite hearing that "invest only what you can afford to lose". If any of you reading this post, what's your thought on this? What should our alternative plan be if this occurs? Also, can we speculate what the aftermath should be for Bitcoin?

RADIO ENCRYPTION TECHNOLOGY

[Taskford]

Although that incident is feared to happen since possibly we could experience network loss for many months so we really need to be prepared for that if unfortunate incident might happen.

But we don't need to worry about since I think experts have some ways to avoid that to happen since they have high tech equipment that can lessen up the damage cost by said incident.

But even though with such case we still need to prepare to back up our wallets so that it can't get affected much. If no internet on the world for sure all online activity including bitcoin will stop that's why we should do something to prepare since this is the only thing we can do for such unfortunate thing to happen in the world.

[BlackBoss_]

When the Internet is shutdown world wide because of Solar Super storm, I am sure the world will be affected in more areas, not only Internet.

When it occurs, the world and human civilization will witness massively serious problems, not only Internet, not only Bitcoin mining activities. If it lasts long, it will be massive problems for all, not only for Bitcoin miners and Bitcoin users.

If the world can not come back to normal or new normal operations, who care about Bitcoin when we have to struggle to live our life.

There are solutions like Satellite Internet, send Bitcoin without Internet but I really think they are all when there is no such massive solar super storm issues.
https://blockstream.com/satellite/
[Total privacy Bitcoin]: off grid Transactions LoRaWan/goTenna
Bitcoin Transaction without Internet.
A LoraWan TTN compatible firmware for a cheap ESP32/Lora board.

[btc78]

bitcoin has its nodes located in different areas so it’s less likely that the whole system goes down all at the same time

with that being said, it might still function for a while before the entire earth goes on a blackout all users of bitcoin will not be able to do anything with it you wouldn’t be able to buy/sell and send/receive or mine bitcoin it will be unusable but it’s ok because there’s also no one to use it anyway

Also, can we speculate what the aftermath should be for Bitcoin?

i’m going to guess and say that bitcoin’s value might go down even if this is technically no one else’s fault people might lose confidence and be scared of the idea of bitcoin or cryptocurrency and their money being stored in the internet i’m gonna keep hodling because I know its price will increase after

[bluebit25]

Rest assured that every problem has a solution, and that solution should be for that scenario to happen realistically, not in speculation.

And the story is that without the Internet, everything that exists will continue to function, and such a global disaster will cause negative effects in all aspects.

But there's no need to be afraid because at least we won't have to return to primitive times.

It's just that until then, people are willing to stop using social networks, where the issue itself can become a topic. 

[hugeblack]

The impact of an Internet outage on the Bitcoin network is not devastating, especially since it will happen in all countries of the world, but if it happens, the damage will be a major problem for the global economy, so all discussions about this matter are purely hypothetical, especially since most cables (even those that reach homes) have become fiber, especially in my country, which is copper wires are rarely found, and all services that will be affected can be shut down, isolated, and restored to service within hours. you should know that the Bitcoin network suffered an outage in 2013.

[tabas]

I have read some short articles about it telling that it's a hoax. Looking at some alternative then by that time everything is going to go down even the banking system won't escape this phenomena. And if we're going to take that part of how it's going to affect Bitcoin and its network, the same goes to the financial system and we might just go back to usual thing through cash. If everyone is going to be affected by internet interruption by a sudden phenomena, we won't be the most affected on this one but those billions or trillions companies that solely rely their services and system through internet.

[348Judah]

[/b]] When a solar superstorm happens, the power grids will face the most impact. This could cause power outages for months. And it will happen worldwide. Every country, every state, everywhere. There's no escape. It will also heavily impact the submarine line that will make internet access unusable. So in case even if you have reserved electricity like in a power bank, that will be unable to help you to get access to the internet.

We know the impact of the thunder strike followed by lightning, this often causes alot of damage on life and other electric devices because the sound of the thunder moves the lightening towards a specific direction in which anywhere this is being felt on terrestrial habitat can cause a huge damage, earthing is one of the ways we can reduce the impact of this on electrocuting devices.

Bitcoin ecosystem or blockchain whatever you want to call it, runs on the internet. Without the internet, everything will fall apart. It will be safe till the internet is back on but when it is offline, what would happen? There aren't any ways that we can tackle this situation. Now many of us put all our life earnings into Bitcoin despite hearing that "invest only what you can afford to lose".

The bitcoin network is not depending on the general internet and likewise is the same as the blockchain technology, we are the ones that needs the internet to get the latest updates and connectivity we sole depends on before we can use the blockchain or bitcoin, for example you can use the internet of your hardware wallet, paperwallet also does not require the internet, the blockchain technology remain intact even if the entire internet is shut down just as bitcointalk host it's website differently without having dependency of the internet.

[kingvirtus09]

I read such news in an article a few months ago. I think we should assume that what they are saying is true; for sure, they are making it a solution to have an alternative way of using the internet.

But even so, of course, it is still possible that this is still speculation, and if it does happen, we should prepare for it because the whole world will definitely be affected if it actually happens. Although it seems scary to think about losing the net.

https://www.india.com/science/internet-apocalypse-no-internet-wifi-nasa-solar-storm-6137407/

[tjtonmoy]

Ok here's my conclusion after going through every reply that has been made so far. We have adapted to something new in order to face this kind of situation. Fiber cable instead of copper wire. That should prevent a huge impact and should keep it to a minimum if this ever happens. So let's discuss the worst-case scenario. Just imagine for a second that it is happening and maybe it will not last for several months as I mentioned in the OP. But does every country in the world have the technology to reboot the system in a few days? Bitcoin blockchain is operated throughout the world. There will be many places that won't have access to the internet or electricity for many days.

How will it affect the others who will get access to the internet and also to Bitcoin first? Also, not being able to use Bitcoin because of this could lead people to think that it is not the best thing to use. Will this fade away like what happens to most of the FUDs or it will continue to impact Bitcoin in the future as well? Also, those who will not have access to it while others will have, won't they lose hope in Bitcoin? Because the price could fall drastically if people who get access to it first start to sell? 

[Casdinyard]

Here's the thing, no bullshit, no media sensationalization:

1. No particular superstorm that's bound to hit the planet, and if there would be we wouldn't be able to detect it right away to create a real action plan that would prevent further damage to our electronics and all that stuff. We're pretty much fucked if it does come.

2. The sun does this in a regular 12-year cycle, it goes a little dormant every 10-11 years, and afterwards enter an active phase where most "solar superstorms" happen. What's being broadcasted right now is the fact that the parker solar probe's already detecting some heightened readings on the sun's surface, meaning that the 12 year cycle is coming up.

3. There's conflicting information as to whether this would affect us short-term (meaning days-weeks) to long term (months to years) but if it does hit the planet, and it rarely does, with the most recent documented one being in the 1800s, (the 2012 one they're talking about is a near-miss) we're going to be fucked as every piece of tech would be fried useless.

Ok here's my conclusion after going through every reply that has been made so far. We have adapted to something new in order to face this kind of situation. Fiber cable instead of copper wire. That should prevent a huge impact and should keep it to a minimum if this ever happens. So let's discuss the worst-case scenario. Just imagine for a second that it is happening and maybe it will not last for several months as I mentioned in the OP. But does every country in the world have the technology to reboot the system in a few days? Bitcoin blockchain is operated throughout the world. There will be many places that won't have access to the internet or electricity for many days.

How will it affect the others who will get access to the internet and also to Bitcoin first? Also, not being able to use Bitcoin because of this could lead people to think that it is not the best thing to use. Will this fade away like what happens to most of the FUDs or it will continue to impact Bitcoin in the future as well? Also, those who will not have access to it while others will have, won't they lose hope in Bitcoin? Because the price could fall drastically if people who get access to it first start to sell?  

What of the electronics? Everything else that uses electricity? They are susceptible to damage as well.

[tabas]

But does every country in the world have the technology to reboot the system in a few days?

Of course not all but the first world countries have for sure the technology to not prolong the disruption if ever this phenomena happens.

Bitcoin blockchain is operated throughout the world. There will be many places that won't have access to the internet or electricity for many days.

The good thing is that miners are scattered all over the world, we will never know on which part is everyone located but on those countries that will be resilient on this event probably have some miners to work on it.

How will it affect the others who will get access to the internet and also to Bitcoin first?

IMO, not that much. There's no problem if someone gets to access first or last after this solar superstorm or any disruption that happens.

Also, not being able to use Bitcoin because of this could lead people to think that it is not the best thing to use. Will this fade away like what happens to most of the FUDs or it will continue to impact Bitcoin in the future as well?

It's proven that Bitcoin has always recovered no matter what the situation is.

Also, those who will not have access to it while others will have, won't they lose hope in Bitcoin? Because the price could fall drastically if people who get access to it first start to sell? 

If those people panic and they put it on sell because they think the price have fallen, the others won't have access by that time so there's no volume yet. Although this can be a real thing, I don't think that everyone is going to lose hope in Bitcoin. We've seen the best and bad times with it.

[Marvelman]

tjtonmoy, you are recycling old topics. I remember this has been discussed many times before.

Here's what I found after a quick search:

Topic: What will happen to bitcoin price if Solar superstorm 'wipe out the internet'?
Topic: What if the internet permanently shuts down
Topic: what happens to bitcoin if the electricity and internet goes out.?
Topic: What will happen to Bitcoin Network if the internet shuts down?
Topic: Solar Storm May Cause Internet Outage
Topic: Solar winds
Topic: What happens to the Bitcoin Blockchain if a Extreme Solar Storm hits Earth?

[tjtonmoy]

tjtonmoy, you are recycling old topics. I remember this has been discussed many times before.

Here's what I found after a quick search:

Topic: What will happen to bitcoin price if Solar superstorm 'wipe out the internet'?
Topic: What if the internet permanently shuts down
Topic: what happens to bitcoin if the electricity and internet goes out.?
Topic: What will happen to Bitcoin Network if the internet shuts down?
Topic: Solar Storm May Cause Internet Outage
Topic: Solar winds
Topic: What happens to the Bitcoin Blockchain if a Extreme Solar Storm hits Earth?

You might wanna read this. We moved on from that topic to this.

Ok here's my conclusion after going through every reply that has been made so far. We have adapted to something new in order to face this kind of situation. Fiber cable instead of copper wire. That should prevent a huge impact and should keep it to a minimum if this ever happens. So let's discuss the worst-case scenario. Just imagine for a second that it is happening and maybe it will not last for several months as I mentioned in the OP. But does every country in the world have the technology to reboot the system in a few days? Bitcoin blockchain is operated throughout the world. There will be many places that won't have access to the internet or electricity for many days.

How will it affect the others who will get access to the internet and also to Bitcoin first? Also, not being able to use Bitcoin because of this could lead people to think that it is not the best thing to use. Will this fade away like what happens to most of the FUDs or it will continue to impact Bitcoin in the future as well? Also, those who will not have access to it while others will have, won't they lose hope in Bitcoin? Because the price could fall drastically if people who get access to it first start to sell? 

[digaran]

If we put sunglasses and some sun protect on Bitcoin nodes, nothing will happen, but make sure to cut off any electronic devices from the power line. And for more safety, write down seed phrases and private keys on paper. The network however has to shut down unless you protect your node or miners. A great restart is being sparked, finally.😉

[bayu7adi]

If any of you reading this post, what's your thought on this? What should our alternative plan be if this occurs? Also, can we speculate what the aftermath should be for Bitcoin?

Sure, here's a more straightforward and youth-friendly version:

You know, there are a few ways to do Bitcoin transactions without using the internet. It's explained here: [Info] Transactions and Broadcasting Bitcoin without Internet.

But, let's face it, the internet plays a huge role and we're all pretty hooked on it. Our jobs are mostly online now, and even if the internet disappeared, we'd go back to the days of regular phone calls and texts for communication. It would be like stepping back in time, and that would mess with the economy big time. Everyone would feel the impact, and it sounds like a total nightmare.

Would everyone die without the internet? Definitely not. People used to live in a time without the internet (before it existed, of course), and it wasn't a big deal. It's just that some of our stuff would be messed up, and there would be chaos that we couldn't control.

[Marvelman]

You might wanna read this. We moved on from that topic to this.

You should still read some of the older threads if you're really interested. All this has already been commented.

How will it affect the others who will get access to the internet and also to Bitcoin first?

There are parts of the world that even today do not have access to the Internet, and thus to bitcoin. Bitcoin doesn't care. It is designed to work regardless of how many people in the world have access to the Internet.

Also, not being able to use Bitcoin because of this could lead people to think that it is not the best thing to use.

Read older threads! It's frustrating if we have to repeat everything again. Bitcoin is "Internet money". Obviously, it's not "the best thing to use" if you don't have access to the Internet. Your question is meaningless. Is a car "the best thing to use" if there are no roads to drive it on?

[kryptqnick]

Even though solar storms don't feel like a common topic, I think this matter was recently discussed on the forum. A solar storm strong enough to fully take out the Internet isn't very likely, from what I've read. And if it happens, there are going to be much bigger problems than lack of access to Bitcoin. Lots of people work online, the essence of huge businesses if fully online. Apart from that, it would probably mean severe lack of electricity, so gadgets mainly not working, hospitals struggling to keep people on life support and in reanimation from dying etc. There are fuel generators that could be used here and there for businesses, schools, and hospitals (I'm talking from experience of blackouts last winter and how people dealt with them in practice). However, there's likely to be a shortage of those very fast in such an event.
So Bitcoin would temporarily be unusable, but once everything is restored, I think it would eventually recover from the losses.

[tjtonmoy]

Also, not being able to use Bitcoin because of this could lead people to think that it is not the best thing to use.

Read older threads! It's frustrating if we have to repeat everything again. Bitcoin is "Internet money". Obviously, it's not "the best thing to use" if you don't have access to the Internet. Your question is meaningless. Is a car "the best thing to use" if there are no roads to drive it on?

Read the next line. Also, not being able to use Bitcoin because of this could lead people to think that it is not the best thing to use. Will this fade away like what happens to most of the FUDs or it will continue to impact Bitcoin in the future as well?

If you don't want to get involved in the discussion then ignore this topic. There's an option for that. Don't just pick one random line from the whole post and talk about it. It's not even the question. The next line is the question and has a question mark after that. Ignore the post or ignore me. I don't care, mate. We are talking about something else. If you don't understand that, then don't make assumptions and try to mislead people.

[Jon_Hodl]

FUD.

If this sort of thing happens, the least of our concerns will be bitcoin. The world as we know it will stop working. No internet means that basically all forms of government will stop working along with all hospitals, traffic grids, gas stations, supply lines, GPS, phones, etc. Nothign will be able to work.

If the internet goes down, I will be much more worried about blatant robbing and killing in the streets because nobody will be able to report looting and pillaging to the local police (not that they would do much to stop it anyway). If the internet goes down, I will be worried about where I will get my next meal and whether or not my electricity will still work.

[Marvelman]

If you don't want to get involved in the discussion then ignore this topic. There's an option for that. Don't just pick one random line from the whole post and talk about it. It's not even the question. The next line is the question and has a question mark after that. Ignore the post or ignore me. I don't care, mate. We are talking about something else. If you don't understand that, then don't make assumptions and try to mislead people.

It seems you still don't understand. It's not about whether I want to participate in the discussion or not, but about that this specific question has already come up in a bunch of other threads.  If you poked around a little, I bet you'd find some good insights there that might help provide some answers.  No need to start a whole new thing going when people have already covered a lot of ground on this.  I'm definitely not the first person to mention that either, so dont take it personally.  We just try to keep things organized around here so people can find what they need without getting overloaded feel me? Next time take a quick look to see if your question's already out there and  if not, then by all means start a new thread.  Either way, no hard feelings.

[hatshepsut93]

If there will be a massive solar superstorm with devastating effects, Bitcoin would be one of our last concerns, because it's decentralized and will survive it as long as the Internet survives. But the damage to the economy and supply chains could be massive, lots of people could lose jobs and there might be even food shortages because of how digitalized everything these days is.

[Ben Barubal]

  I think that even if there is a solar storm, our internet will not be lost. It may have an effect, but it will not lead to the point where it is said that it is an internet apocalypse. Because how many times has there been a solar storm?

  What I know is that there was a solar storm before where we have internet data, but it didn't feel like it affected the internet in general; it might be affected in other parts, not in the scenario that is all places, I just think.

[Kaliandra]

I'm sure this is what we fear if a super solar storm occurs because without electricity and internet we won't be able to buy and sell bitcoin because buying and selling bitcoin on exchanges and so on of course requires internet and electricity. . If a solar storm comes, I personally will definitely be sad but of course I will accept reality. but fortunately because I only used money that was ready to lose which was used to invest in BTC, but with the super solar storm I think many people will experience losses, not only Bitcoin. But others will also lose a lot, but in my opinion if the solar storm has subsided of course we can continue trading Bitcoin because electricity and the internet will definitely be rebuilt and repaired.

This is an interesting topic, I hope solar storms don't happen because I invested in BTC. However, we have to be careful because a super solar storm could occur.

[justdimin]

I do not think that the solar flare would last as much as our dear Op has made it seem, but it is paramount to adhere to any tips that would ensure the safety of ones wallet and crypto asset nonetheless.
Am sure not only the decentralized network would be affected but as well as internet banking, transactions between P2p and withdrawals and the exchanged where the purchase of cryptos is made possible.

Thanks for the tip though, but I believe our technology has been equipped or is equipped to counter any resulting effects from that solar storm about to happen.

I am not even sure if it's true or it will only be like the others before, which acts like a FUD to scare anyone. And the ones who did that, has a hidden agenda. And even if let say it's true, I think there is no way to tell its duration, as we are not in control of it but we shouldn't worry if there will ever be solutions that will be made during it, because we can still continue doing our business as usual.

It is said that the internet will only be affected, so it has nothing to do with the security of our wallet and crypto. Like I said earlier, it is rumored that there will be no internet during it. So, everything who rely on it including that internet banking you are talkin about will as well be affected obviously.

[angrybirdy]

  I think that even if there is a solar storm, our internet will not be lost. It may have an effect, but it will not lead to the point where it is said that it is an internet apocalypse. Because how many times has there been a solar storm?

  What I know is that there was a solar storm before where we have internet data, but it didn't feel like it affected the internet in general; it might be affected in other parts, not in the scenario that is all places, I just think.

I hope it won't happen because it will cause a huge impact in the economy as all of us needs an internet and electricity in order to perform our task and Job. Living in this digital world, this news is very alarming because if that happens, it will wipe out the internet for how many weeks and possible months that leads to a greater damages such as global communication but there's no substantial evidence that can support the claims about it.