Two economists recently suggested that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin could be a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Economics due to his contributions to cryptocurrency. The comments were made on a podcast for a joint economic blog Marginal Revolution by Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarro as they discussed potential contenders for the upcoming Nobel Prize.
The award announcement is set to be made on Monday, October 14.
Cowen expressed his support for Buterin thanks to his contribution in building the Ethereum network and native currency ETH and how they challenges traditional economic theories like Mises’ regression theorem.
“I have an unusual pick, I suspect you’ll agree with me. I would give it to Vitalik Buterin,” Cowen explained. “Vitalik has built a platform, created a currency, you could say refuted Mises regression theorem in the process, obviously following in the footsteps of Satoshi [Nakamoto].”
After the list of accomplishments, he quipped: “My goodness, what does someone have to do to get a Nobel Prize?”
Tabarro echoed Cowen’s sentiments and highlighted the real-world success of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
“I think you would have thought [Bitcoin and Ethereum] were impossible if you had thought about it in advance, yet they’re actually working in the real world,” Tabarro said in response. “Not only that, but Vitalik has continued to contribute towards the mechanism design of Ethereum by going to a proof-of-stake.”
This shift, known as The Merge, reduced Ethereum’s energy usage by 99%, a change the economists humorously likened to changing car tires while driving.
Cowen also praised Buterin’s writings on monetary economics, noting his politeness and suitability for the Nobel Prize ceremony. The economists also mentioned Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, but questioned whether an anonymous person could receive the award.
Recently, a documentary claimed that Bitcoin Core Developer Peter Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto, but Todd has denied this, and the crypto community largely rejects the claim.
