Could Bitcoin still exist if the internet was shut down worldwide for a week?

[Floxynice]

Btw, we have technologies that allow the use of bitcoin without the need of the internet ...

Can you tell more about it ?

There are several ways to use bitcoin without internet like SMS transactions from CoinText service, or over Mesh or Lora network. Or you can use Blockstream Satellite which allows you to receive blockchain data via satellite without internet.

But in general all these methods are not popular and common because as we all know, the possibility of losing global internet connection for a long time is very low and we have never encountered this situation. The loss of global internet connectivity would cause catastrophic consequences, so governments will never allow that to happen. We don't need to know these methods either.

This is interesting. I am just getting to know today that we can actually send and receive bitcoins through SMS. How does it work, is the SMS peculiar to a particular country or it is same pattern for everyone irrespective of their location? I am still trying to get used to how we can use bitcoin conveniently without internet.

These technologies that allow this need to be upgraded and be in use without any challenge. Bitcoin has password that stage where we will be bothering about internet connectivity.

[ghan7300]

no , bitcoin would pause as it relies on internet for communication and it could resume once the internet is restored.

[TheUltraElite]

A lot more things other than bitcoin would be the point of concern if the internet shut down for a while, bitcoin would be least of concerns.

However if it does, then we have wait till it gets restored and then the network would start working again. It will just pause a while, it cannot be stopped..

Maybe in future we might find ways to solve this problem and use bitcoin even if the network is down. I see some people talking about Lora, I have heard about it but not how it is used.

[Johnlomape]

A lot more things other than bitcoin would be the point of concern if the internet shut down for a while, bitcoin would be least of concerns.

However if it does, then we have wait till it gets restored and then the network would start working again. It will just pause a while, it cannot be stopped..

Maybe in future we might find ways to solve this problem and use bitcoin even if the network is down. I see some people talking about Lora, I have heard about it but not how it is used.

The only thing I know that could make the Internet to shutdown worldwide is world war 3 and we should be getting ready for that. Russia and NATO are not in a good terms and Trump has previously told NATO countries to shutdown Russia jets if they enter their spaces. This is a pure sign that NATO and Russia might be preparing for another horrible conflict exercises that could disrupt the whole world.

If the Internet shutdown down due to the war with Russia, I don't think anyone would be talking about their Bitcoin but rather thinking of shelter and how to evacuate the regions affected by the conflict. The only thing that will make the Internet to disappear is world war 3 and I hope it won't happen.

[krishnaverma]

A lot more things other than bitcoin would be the point of concern if the internet shut down for a while, bitcoin would be least of concerns.

However if it does, then we have wait till it gets restored and then the network would start working again. It will just pause a while, it cannot be stopped..

Maybe in future we might find ways to solve this problem and use bitcoin even if the network is down. I see some people talking about Lora, I have heard about it but not how it is used.

The only thing I know that could make the Internet to shutdown worldwide is world war 3 and we should be getting ready for that.

Like how ? I do not think anything will be left if world war 3 happens.

[Outhue]

A lot more things other than bitcoin would be the point of concern if the internet shut down for a while, bitcoin would be least of concerns.

However if it does, then we have wait till it gets restored and then the network would start working again. It will just pause a while, it cannot be stopped..

Maybe in future we might find ways to solve this problem and use bitcoin even if the network is down. I see some people talking about Lora, I have heard about it but not how it is used.

The only thing I know that could make the Internet to shutdown worldwide is world war 3 and we should be getting ready for that.

Like how ? I do not think anything will be left if world war 3 happens.

My country never fought in WW1 and WW2, it is none of our business, the highest war that took place here was civil war, and so is the same with many other Africa countries, if war is brewing it is better to exit your country as there will be many signs available. Bitcoin transaction will freeze on the blockchain until the internet is back and even if it takes over 10years Bitcoin will be well preserved, people need to stop worrying about what could happen to Bitcoin if the internet goes down.

As for those talking about WW3, it will be more bloodier than the past because of the tools of destruction that's available today, generations of generations will seize to exists and it will take decades to heal from it, think about something like Hiroshima and times it 10x, atomic bombs today are marginally more effective than what hit Japan in the past, don't pray for war but peace instead.

[zeuner]

Difficulty would adjust, and it might not be advisable to depend on any assumptions about which transactions will go through first after recovery.

[YOSHIE]

Would Bitcoin survive through offline solutions like mesh networks and satellites, or would it completely halt?

Bitcoin legally cannot operate if the internet is completely dead, Indonesia three weeks ago was hit by flash floods, mud as high as 2 meters, electricity access was completely cut off for several days, internet access was completely dead, information could not be accessed, everything was lost like in this era of life70s.

Long story short, in a situation like that, many crypto users cannot access exchanges, wallets or other devices, that is a real experience, several days the internet goes down, everything related to internet access cannot be accessed, meaning that if it happens worldwide, we can say goodbye to Bitcoin.

[Z-tight]

Long story short, in a situation like that, many crypto users cannot access exchanges, wallets or other devices, that is a real experience, several days the internet goes down, everything related to internet access cannot be accessed, meaning that if it happens worldwide, we can say goodbye to Bitcoin.

There are just so many systems depending on the internet, not just the BTC ecosystem. While i don't think we can experience a worldwide internet shutdown, except there is an apocalypse, i also believe that if it happens, most of the worlds system would also suffer, not just BTC or cryptocurrencies. This is not a BTC problem, same way i don't thing quantum computer is.

[Abiky]

There are just so many systems depending on the internet, not just the BTC ecosystem. While i don't think we can experience a worldwide internet shutdown, except there is an apocalypse, i also believe that if it happens, most of the worlds system would also suffer, not just BTC or cryptocurrencies. This is not a BTC problem, same way i don't thing quantum computer is.

Governments and banks will have a HUGE problem if they shut down the whole Internet. They also depend on it to be able to provide online services to everyone. Taking down Bitcoin, means the death of cyberspace as we know it. This is a risky path for governments to take. They're better off joining it, instead of trying to destroy it. Governments are already devising pro-crypto regulations to keep Bitcoin in-check.

What can really disrupt or shut down Bitcoin is a large-scale nuclear war or EMP strike. That could happen in the distant future. In the meantime, let's enjoy the ride and forget about the rest.

[The Bitcoin Act]

Bitcoin isn’t an isolated system, it relies on the global internet, power grids, and computing infrastructure. Any event that truly “kills” Bitcoin would almost certainly devastate everything else in the digital world as well. So the idea that governments could just target Bitcoin without collateral damage is mostly a fantasy.

Governments have incentives to regulate, not destroy, as you pointed out, governments and financial institutions increasingly see cryptocurrencies as something they can integrate, tax, and regulate.

[Z-tight]

What can really disrupt or shut down Bitcoin is a large-scale nuclear war or EMP strike. That could happen in the distant future. In the meantime, let's enjoy the ride and forget about the rest.

If we are talking about a full-scale nuclear war, then the worry would be about a destruction of the world, surely not BTC or finances, lol. The point is the same, anything that can put a solid stop to BTC, would be something that would affect the entire world in itself, and at that point, people would probably not be worried about their money, but about something more precious.

[The Bitcoin Act]

What can really disrupt or shut down Bitcoin is a large-scale nuclear war or EMP strike. That could happen in the distant future. In the meantime, let's enjoy the ride and forget about the rest.

If we are talking about a full-scale nuclear war, then the worry would be about a destruction of the world, surely not BTC or finances, lol. The point is the same, anything that can put a solid stop to BTC, would be something that would affect the entire world in itself, and at that point, people would probably not be worried about their money, but about something more precious.

Absolutely!! Any existential peril capable of truly shutting down BTC, whether apocalyptic like nuclear devastation or technological like scalable quantum attacks, would first devastate civilization at large! And people don't get it...

[virasog]

A lot more things other than bitcoin would be the point of concern if the internet shut down for a while, bitcoin would be least of concerns.

However if it does, then we have wait till it gets restored and then the network would start working again. It will just pause a while, it cannot be stopped..

Maybe in future we might find ways to solve this problem and use bitcoin even if the network is down. I see some people talking about Lora, I have heard about it but not how it is used.

Well, if the internet is paused for a whole week worldwide, it is more of a concern than knowing how Bitcoin will be used during that time. This never happened, we never had an internet outage worldwide and I hope this situation may never come. Even if there is a world war, the internet will be disrupted in war-affected areas but still, it will not be such that the internet is not available worldwide.

Right now, Bitcoin needs the internet for its operation and it cannot be used without it.