The irrational bit of that whole argument to me is that they are effectively trying to keep &#x27;the lights on&#x27; when their customers can no longer use overstock anyway. After all, if the banking system collapses your inability to use &#x27;overstock.com&#x27; is going to be the least of your problems.<p>Recently Greece went through something like this on a much smaller scale (and with daily limits rather than a total collapse but it got quite close). Paying with gold was never even considered, people switched to cash in stead. It&#x27;s not as if you&#x27;re going to buy a bread or fill up your basket at the supermarket and expect to pay with gold, people will not be able to ascertain its value on the spot at the register.<p>Having $10M in cash in various currencies to hedge against the collapse of <i>one</i> currency or banking system would already be quite an act of paranoia, having it in gold is taking that to a completely different level. That&#x27;s end-of-times level stuff, it means there is no more trust in any currency at all. Merchants in Greece would have been happy to take your cash if you had it.