Using Bitcoin Paper Wallets As Paper Money

Is it possible to use bitcoin paper wallets as physical cash?

A paper wallet typically contains the public key (address) and private key of a given portion of bitcoin. This is all the information required to access and control cryptocurrency. So yes, if a specific amount of bitcoin is allocated to a paper wallet, then that paper wallet can be used as cash because it is a deed of ownership of the underlying bitcoin.

There are a few issues though, all related to trust. Unless you use the information to access the bitcoin online (a time-consuming process) right at the time that the transaction is made, you have no way of knowing that the wallets hold the amount of bitcoin that the payer claims they do. You also have no guarantee that the person paying you with paper wallets will not use a copy of the information to access and transfer the bitcoins before you do.

A number of enthusiasts have minted phyiscal bitcoin coins over the years, with each coin containing public and private keys for one bitcoin. These used special, tamper-proof seals to hide the information. But from what I know, some clever people found ways to hack the seals.

All in all an interesting concept, but impractical at this stage.