[scottybowl]

Cashless societies should never exist - it would be far too easy for rogue governments to turn someone's life off

[Dayshine]

Oh come now, how do you get hold of enough cash to be immune? Keep 6 months living costs in cash in your house!?

Also, if they're turning off your bank accounts, they're turning off your utilities too... And you'll miss your car insurance payments, so you can't drive either.

[omgtehlion]

> keep 6 months living costs in cash

Well, I do. Just in case, yknow. But anyway I use cards daily...

[michaelmrose]

Some people actually do this. Like most Americans they don't have 6 months of expenses in their house. Instead they get paid and pay their bills.

[amiga-workbench]

You also have the private companies running these payment services to worry about. Paypal has a horrific track record.

[derefr]

Consider that it’s entirely possible to mandate that POS systems, ending machines, etc. check the serial numbers on your bills against a blacklist. Cash is no refuge if a government wants to turn enough people’s lives off badly enough.

[Animats]

Which China already does.

ATMs which accept currency usually read the serial number.

[acchow]

How would they stop blockchain transactions?

[auganov]

Cashlessness makes it easier to cordon off the official economy from the blockchain/grey economy. That is assuming the blockchain is made illegal. Otherwise, I guess there isn't that much of a problem.