Bitcoin Rap Battle Reactions and Review: FIAT vs Crypto

For those who are familiar with Rap Battles, they are usually a sung debate, and this debate is something that we passionate crypto and coiners care about – the old FIAT vs Crypto debate.

In this rap battle, we have Hamilton defending the dollar and the FIAT system while we have Satoshi Nakamoto defending Bitcoin and Crypto.

I think this is a great video to see if you haven’t already, and it’s also a good conversation starter for those who, like me, are passionate about the debate.

I’m sharing the video first while reacting to it by reviewing it and giving it a global opinion and then I’m going to go through the lyrics as I think they need careful examination.

Have fun with the rap and pay attention to the arguments and fallacies.

Hamilton vs Nakamoto Rap Battle: The Overview and CryptoMax’s Opinion

Well, I feel this rap battle although it’s fun and launches a discussion, is very lacking.

I don’t just mean the crypto part, but the FIAT one as well.

It seems the writers could have researched more as we definitely have some elephants in the room.

Hamilton, for example, would in no way defend the system as we have it today – the dollar in his days was backed by gold and if he would see inflation as it stands today he would have been mindblown and seriously disturbed.

On the other hand, most arguments Satoshi makes don’t apply anymore, but this is something I talk about in my lyrics analysis part.

Read below for the full run-down on the rap battle, but hear it meanwhile so you can form your own opinion before being influenced by mine!

 

Now that you have seen the video and heard the rap battle what did you think?

Be sure to post your answer down below in the comments section and continue on reading if you care about my point of view on it.

 

Analyzing the Lyrics: My Thoughts on the Debate

First of all, Hamilton lived in a world where there was no such thing as the monetary policy he defends in this video.

The crypto audience just loathes the artificial creation of wealth through printing and adding zeros on bank ledgers.

On the other hand, Hamilton also defended the natural creation of value in which all of the money was taxed and tariffed.

Satoshi here focuses too much on control when we know the real Satoshi cared about reliability and ease of payments much more, and that’s what BCH continued to do.

Now, let’s start with the beginning and look at it in detail one step at a time.

HAMILTON
“Before we begin, everyone do me a favor
And read a little thing I wrote called the Federalist Papers
I explain how a nation’s unlikely to survive
Without a strong central government to keep it alive
When I launched the central bank, Jefferson called me ill
Now you have my face to thank on every ten dollar-bill
When America was cash-strapped, I pushed past that
Now some sicko makes crypto and our nation backtracks?”

 

So, I actually read the Federalist Papers and the overwhelming majority of it is judicial, it bears little impact on the monetary policies of today.

I get that they pick up Alexander Hamilton because of his role in setting up the dollar, but the dollar he made was systematically different from the dollar we have today.

You couldn’t do anything of what you do now with his macroeconomic system based on inflation and lowering interest to create artificial movements and government investing Keynes style to the dollar back then.

I agree that a strong central plan is needed, but what we don’t need is a centralized implementation of that central plan. One thing can live with the other.

The people will make the central plan in a fair way and the code will enforce that plan, deleting the ways people have to add corruption and rule-bending to the mix.

Also, Crypto didn’t backtrack anything, the dollar Hamilton is defending (today’s dollar, not his time’s dollar), is still in power.

BTC didn’t change a thing on the dollar and the only thing it did was that it ADDED an extra layer, so things just got added upon, even if you dislike crypto.

SATOSHI
"Decentralized currency. Yes, I invented it
I’m sure many governments wish they had prevented it
Their national cash is how they keep control
But freedom to the people was my ultimate goal
Am I a pseudonym? A group of men? It doesn’t even matter
I invented Bitcoin cause fiat is a disaster
A man from Japan or a damn hologram?
I’m the reason open season on crypto began"

 

This is maybe the only part where I don’t have a problem per se, but the problem lies in that this was the opening line from Nakamoto and it was weak.

The authors did their best to give the crowd a simple overview of what were the motivations for crypto but they ended up just stating “uncontrollable” which sets up all kinds of red flags.

This was when I started thinking that maybe the authors just had a very general knowledge of what Crypto was about, and I wasn’t disappointed by the other verses since they confirmed my suspicions.

The rap is fun, but it is a lost opportunity, especially with EpicLloyd into the mix when he just genius in Epic Rap Battles From History.

HAMILTON
"Does anybody know what this crypto-thing means?
To me, sounds like the new Get Broke Quick scheme
A bunch of fools from across the land
Investing in something they don’t even understand
Buying Litecoin, Dash, Bitcoin Cash
It’s all gonna crash, and be gone in a flash
All this unsupported money’s an irrational prank
And I’ll be laughing all the way to my National Bank"

 

The first two lines were spot on as this is almost the number one thing FIAT defenders lash out at crypto and coiners for.

I remember that I used to ardently follow Nouriel Roubini because following his tweeter feed was hilarious… A Nobel prize guy and the one who specializes in predicting crisis constantly publishing ridiculous stuff about crypto just tickled me fancy.

Most of his posts are just him screaming at people that Crypto is a Get Rich Quick Scam and a Bubble.

I’ve been following him for about 4 years now and to write this article I went to his profile and sure enough here is his last tweet:

So you can see that no matter what crypto does, Nobel FIAT Nouriel still calls it a bubble, even though when bubbles burst they don’t recover and Crypto is a climbing history of bulls and busts.

Not only that, it is the asset class with the most appreciation since its inception.

Also, Hamilton says the money is backed by nothing – well, it’s backed by the market and the scarcity. Dollars can be printed and, again, if Hamilton knew this he’d be rolling in his grave to be used to defend the current unbacked system.

The unbacked dollar defender arguing about backing without realizing that what backs the USD is the same as what backs the cryptoverse – Trust!

That is all.

SATOSHI
"Hahahahahah, yeah dude, super funny
As if banks these days still helped people make money
The rich get richer and we follow like we’re all sheep
The banks serve Wall Street, crypto serves all streets
The interest in crypto’s on rapid ascent
What’s your current interest? Half a percent?
I’m sorry, the bank’s gone past its peak
But I want info encrypted, not hacked and leaked"

 

Not all crypto serves all streets, low income people are forbidden to use Bitcoin Core because of its monstrous fees for example.

What Satoshi is defending in this rap battle is actually Bitcoin Cash (BCH) not Bitcoin Core (BTC).

He is spot-on in the interest part and in the data part of the argument and these two lines are strong, but he wasted a full line saying “Hahahaha, yeah dude, super funny”.

With so many grievous wounds’ arguments to be made against the current dollar system, he really wasted a line just to set up the second weak-ass line?

HAMILTON
"If this crypto system will be our salvation
It needs to be centralized, needs regulation
If our central database gets… how you say, “hacked?”
Insurance will just make a case to get your money back
‘Cause in fact, it’s tracked, and the money leaves a trail
Central currency is strong, cryptocurrency is frail
Untraceable money — wow, so clever
One typo in your address? Now it’s gone forever"

 

The insurance on the centralized database hack covers very little, you’d be surprised…

…or maybe you won’t because it got hacked several times already with huge losses for the people affected.

On the other hand, Hamilton claims that Crypto needs regulation.

Here’s where I agree with him.

HOWEVER, it should be regulated in a democratic way through the code and a ruleset that prevents corruption, not a naturally corrupt system and an immoral monetary policy (like the one we have today).

The typo on the address makes it gone forever? What is this?

Everybody knows this isn’t true.

SATOSHI
"Crypto is frail? That’s the essence of your lesson?
Your money leaves a trail? Yeah, a trail to a recession
A buncha rich white guys made this system
Why would they ever change this, when it’s made them rich men
Movie moguls fought hard against the VCR
Horse and buggy manufacturers all hated the car
So why would I take my advice from the banks?
I don’t need a bailout to survive. Thanks"

 

Well, I don’t see what being white has to do with FIAT or Crypto so I’ll disregard half of Satoshi’s weak comeback.

He is spot on dollar wanting to fight the development which is the closest to render it obsolete (although I believe there is still a long, LONG way to go).

The bailout argument was nice to have, but it is too vague to really connect the interaction it aims to highlight between government spending, the monetary policies, and the tendency to grant favors and leniency to “friends” and “boys”.

HAMILTON
"The Government protects its people. All of this is obvious
They keep the peace, and so they KEEP control
You want us ruled by crypto-miners no one even knows"

 

Well, there’s a partial truth contained in this argument which is the fact that security often has a trade-off which is privacy.

Think about security and privacy and you’ll see that if you want an entity, person, state, company, insurance firm, etc to protect you, you’ll usually have to give them part of your privacy.

However, control isn’t something you need to give.

Control usually has another trade-off, but it isn’t privacy, it’s convenience.

You usually give control to custodians and other entities to get convenience. You give control of your pizzas outside of the store to the delivery man and so on.

These are dynamics I spent years studying, and so I can definitely say the author did some research on these variables but got them mixed up.

Finally, why do we need to know the crypto miners? To better control them? We know where the hash power is and we know roughly where the mining is done so… do we need their social security number or something?

DOX the miners xD

SATOSHI
"Oh, it’s that "Strong Central Government" bit again
They protect people, but only their citizens
Crypto has no borders, it's a true global currency
And censorship resistance for those who need it urgently"

 

Of course, the state only protects its citizens, the current model has the citizens paying for the state, so why shouldn’t those resources be spent in order to protect them?

First, change the system, then you can think about arguments like this, Satoshi should have taken aim at the system this Hamilton defends, not something as obvious and that sounds so right on the current ways the system works.

Censorship resistance and crypto being borderless were the good parts of this block.

HAMILTON
"Banks earn trust by assuming liability
You know a key, we know the customer explicitly
Will the real Satoshi please stand up?
Nope, you’ll still be hiding when crypto busts"

 

Well, what’s the difference between knowing a key and knowing the customer’s tax ID?

Huh?

Plus, Crypto isn’t busting any time soon, and we all know Satoshi is Bitcoin SV’s founder- LOL, I’m joking here, I couldn’t resist.

SATOSHI
"You don’t need to trust the people, you just need to trust the code
Every record’s in the network, you’re just one node
And when you find a flaw, there’s a software update
Now try updating cash… go ahead, I’ll wait"

 

Four lines to make the programmable money argument is a bit overkill, and I’d love that Satoshi could have at least mentioned the scarcity of the tokens at least once in this Rap Battle.

This was the perfect block to add that, and how can you debate FIAT without mentioning the scarcity of the tokens?

It’s an obvious missed chance.

HAMILTON
"Wait? Cash works! You immediately pay
Crypto's a far worse medium of exchange
Can’t bitcoin the dentist, can’t bitcoin my breakfast
Can’t even use bitcoin at bitcoin conventions"

 

You immediately pay with physical cash, that bit is true, but the problem is what happens when you’re not paying with physical cash but through a bank or credit card.

That way you ALWAYS use a middleman who can control not only what you do but also block you from doing it.

Removing the middlemen is another cornerstone of Bitcoin, and Satoshi, again, didn’t mention it, instead opting to excuse himself for not having universal adoption and losing a great shot at humiliating the leeches that are third parties.

SATOSHI
"No currency starts with universal adoption
It takes time for places to make it an option
Plus billions of people don’t have bank accounts
No savings, no interest, no checks to bounce"

 

Now this one is again right up the alley of Bitcoin Cash.

Bitcoin Cash is the crypto with the opportunity to bank the unbanked, and if Satoshi is defending Bitcoin Core on this one needs to check himself.

Why?

The unbanked are very low on funds, and paying a transaction in the BTC chain will cost them their year’s wages.

HAMILTON
"You’re saving the world? But what’s the price you’re paying?
The only change you’re creating is climate change
Power grids spiking all across the land
Overheated, no one needs it, hope it all is banned"

 

Not the climate change argument.

So what if mining now has some collateral impact on the environment.

I agree it sucks but the traditional FIAT system hurts the environment WAY more – in a way that I’ll approach on the analysis of the next block.

Global warming isn’t caused by mining, but does Satoshi understand that?

SATOSHI
"From the king of paper currency, the hypocrisy!
For bills and forms in triplicate, you’re killing all the trees
Don’t like my power usage? Stop targeting my rights
I own my purchased power and the market sets the price"

Nope, Satoshi has a lame response here once again.

Trees for the paper money?

Really?

Paper money that is only a fraction of it?

What about the mining, machines, emissions, factories, minting processes, industrial impact, geographic impact, and so on of the traditional monetary sector?

Trees for paper notes are the least of the problems Satoshi, the true damage is done by what I mentioned.

The last two lines are ok, the first two are another missed opportunity.

HAMILTON
"It’s gonna get real dark if this is crypto’s night
They use your currency for crimes, that’s your kryptonite"

SATOSHI
"Most crime is done with Benjamins, not the blockchain
There’s a reason most dollars carry traces of cocaine"

 

The crime argument is common and this is spotlighted right in this section.

When the internet first appeared, the same arguments were made, that the Internet was just used for crime and adult stuff – when we all know how that turns out.

New tech is often powered by the wrong things, remember the atomic bomb.

HAMILTON
"Where’s your proof of work? That’s pure speculation
Those darknet black markets need more regulation"

SATOSHI
"The world’s fulla currencies. And this one makes it worse?
1 hundred eighty now, Bitcoin’s a hundred-eighty-first"

HAMILTON
"It’s not the currency itself, it’s the method, man
You can’t build things that last without a central plan"

SATOSHI
"Crypto is a balance to the centralized model
Cause things fall apart. The center cannot HODL"

HAMILTON
"If you end up having problems, I’ll feel bad for you, son"

SATOSHI
"I’ve got 99 problems but a Bit ain’t one"

 

And so the rap ended.

When I clicked on the video to watch it, I was really excited thinking that maybe I’d see something with the same quality level as most Epic Rap Battles of History since Epic Lloyd was in it.

However, this beat although enjoyable is kind of lackluster and weak.

I didn’t get any new arguments or a refreshing point of view, and I saw so many missed opportunities and blunders I bite my tongue.

Finally, I’m still happy this exists because the comments could start some really cool discussions, and there are a lot of places starting conversations based on this clip.

I wrote this review and my opinion of it to start a discussion myself, so go on and comment down below on what you think of all this.

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