Vitalik Buterin has emerged as a surprising candidate for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics.
While economists regard him as a “non-traditional“ selection, Ethereum’s co-founder has made remarkable contributions.
Recently, economists Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, creators of Marginal Revolution, shared their predictions for the likely winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics.
The Oct. 8 episode of the Marginal Revolution podcast featured the duo’s discussion.
Referring to it as an “unusual pick,” Cowen stated that his choice would be Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum and a computer scientist.
Though they debated the value of theoretical economics, both Cowen and Tabarrok agreed that Buterin earned the award “he actually did something in monetary economics.”
Per Cowen:
“Vitalik built a platform, created a currency, you could say, refuted Mises’ regression theorem in the process, obviously following in the footsteps of Satoshi, but my goodness, what does someone have to do to get a Nobel Prize?”
Expressing his agreement, Tabarrok remarked, “Not only that, but Vitalik has continued to contribute toward the mechanism design of Ethereum by going to proof-of-stake.”
He likened Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake to “those videos of those guys in Saudi Arabia where they change the car tires while the car is moving.”
“That’s what Ethereum did,” Tabarrok added.
The two also explored Buterin’s reputation for being agreeable, noting that he serves as a representative of the cryptocurrency world and is seen as an intellectual and amiable figure.
However, Tabarrok highlighted that in terms of contributions to cryptocurrency, Buterin ranks closely behind the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin.
“Yes, I agree. Satoshi, of course, should have gotten it as well, but I’m sure he’s dead,” he said, prompting Cowen to retort, “I’m not sure he’s dead.”
An HBO documentary that aired on October 8 revealed the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the supposed inventor of Bitcoin, to be computer scientist Peter Todd.
However, the cryptocurrency community remains skeptical, and Todd himself disputes the validity of the claims made by the filmmaker.
On Oct. 14, the Nobel Prize in Economics committee will announce the recipients.
