Gold would be just as useless in your scenario more importantly, bitcoin might work and might not, which means it has appreciation potential. Gold, on the other hand, has been more or less stagnant last 5-6 years despite all of the crazy gold bugs around. That's because it's a known entity and by now trades as a macro product.
I'll tell you what...Apple pay is awesome. Several times I've gone out to the grocery store and forgot my wallet and instead of having to go home to get it, I can just use my phone to pay. The only problem though is some stores don't take it, so if I'm out without my wallet, I can only go to certain stores.
Carry cash my friend. It amazes me how people are so clueless. Fuck Apple Pay and any other digital means to obtain goods and services. You're setting yourself up to be a victim. Its a huge Achilles Heal. All the Millenials think its so cool to pay with their phones or their plastic. I see em every day. Like its (and perhaps it is) a chick magnet or something. Like they've arrived. Buy a $1 cup of coffee at MCD with your phone. I'm so cool. It would be OK if they had cash too.... but they don't. Its fucking stupid. That stuff is SOOOOoo vulnerable. Wait till it all crashes because a satellite somewhere malfunctions or a backhoe in Montana cuts through a T3 line that feeds mainframes in Seattle ....and your car is on empty and you have zero cash and zero food. The minimum wage employee can only give you a sympathetic dumb look but there's "nothing he can do". And trust me on this.... there are way worse scenarios that I'll leave out here. Anyone who does not have an adequate supply of cash at the ready is just plain friggin ignorant. Millennials are sooooooooooooo stupid in this regard. Keep staring at those phones. Thats where its at. Everything works all the time. Depend on em. Mark this post too.
I rarely carry cash. What is the purpose? Problems with cash are #1. Easy to lose. Once you accidentally drop a $20 bill, its gone. No going back for it because someone picked it up and its theirs now. Wallet gets stolen? Cash is going to be gone. Most people wont return cash. Hell, one time I lost my wallet and whoever found it mailed it back to me, minus the cash. (Sent it C.O.D. of course) #2 It's dirty. People go to the bathroom and don't wash their hands...then they handle money. Disgusting. #3 Carry too much and someone might want to rob you. Never have to worry about losing anything with the phone. #4 No accounting system other than the receipt you get back from the cashier. This is the biggest problem for me. Trying to figure out where $400 went a few weeks ago all has to be done from memory. With my phone I can look up all my transactions right away. #5 You pay more with cash. There is no reward for spending money. You don't get a check back at the end of the year with cash. But let's go to your scenario. The backhoe or satellite malfunctions somewhere and I have no cash and zero food. Ok...but lets use that same scenario on you. You run out of cash because that's all you spend, so you head to the bank as that backhoe/satellite malfunctions. Now you can't get any money because the bank computers are all down. What do YOU do? Me...well If I'm hungry and have no gas, I at least have a $600 phone to trade. You have nothing. Checkmate. And I'm a Gen X'er, not a millenial.
I personally wouldn't buy Bitcoin to hold it simply because I don't no enough about it and the associated risks. However, I have no problem trading it like any other currency.
Checkmate huh? Well imo #1) People who drop or misplace money deserve to lose it. They're stupid. #2) People who put money in their mouths deserve to get sick because..... they're stupid. #3) People who get robbed deserve to lose their money because..... they're stupid. #4) People who worry about where money they've already spent has gone... you guessed it.... they're stupid. Or poor. #5) This is your dumbest argument of all. One credit card is enough for any person. You need it for airlines, hotels, rental cars, and big ticket purchases. Cash back works great, when you zero your purchases every month. In your brilliant chess moves...You failed to mention the cost of carrying all those purchases which every Millenial and X'r I know... does. Its called "interest". Why do you think they give cash back? To make people feel good about buying more. Who builds sky-scrapers, you or the banks? They don't do that giving money back to people. One more time.... stupid. And in your scenario... notice I said "cash on hand". Thats right.... mattress money. The banks will eventually re-open.... and if they don't... you've already starved to death.... Me, I've used my cash to make more cash so I'm living fat dumb and happy with everything I need. But the biggest stupidity of all about relying mainly on digital currency.... you've traded one more freedom and placed it in the hands of people that can take it away with one click of a mouse... and the new generations are sooooo dumbed down..... they don't even realize this. Its like leading sheep to slaughter. And the sheep are too f'ing dumb to even see it coming. So do whatever floats your boat bro... but trust me, I'm right on all points above.
I view it as an acceptance game. At this stage it could either fail and disappear or it could get accepted as a financial tool and appreciate by virtue of gaining use. So it's a cheap option and one should always buy cheap options.
I don't mention the costs of carrying because I always pay my credit card off every month. Along with 60% of the rest of the population. But as for you opinion on this subject...Well...It's stupid.