Vitalik Buterin, one of the founders of Ethereum, is getting more attention as a possible Nobel Prize winner in economics in 2024. Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, two economists, recently talked about this possibility on an episode of their show, Marginal Revolution. Cowen called Buterin a “non-traditional” but very worthy nominee.
Cowen praised Buterin for the important things he has done for monetary economics, saying that he has done more than many traditional economists. He made it clear that Buterin’s work on Ethereum and the creation of a new type of currency directly questions well-known economic theories, like Mises’ regression theorem. Cowen said that Buterin’s accomplishments are impressive on their own, even though they build on the work of Satoshi Nakamoto, the person who created Bitcoin.
Tabarrok agreed with Cowen and pointed out Buterin’s important part in changing Ethereum from a proof-of-work system to a proof-of-stake system. Compared to films of skilled workers changing tires on a moving car, he said this complicated change was like an amazing feat. This comparison brought out the amazing technical progress that has been made in Ethereum’s development.
Both experts also talked about Buterin’s friendliness, calling him an intelligent person in the cryptocurrency space who is easy to talk to. On the other hand, they agreed that Satoshi Nakamoto, the mystery person behind Bitcoin, had done more for cryptocurrencies than he had.
There were some fun guesses about who Nakamoto was during the talk. For example, Cowen joked that Nakamoto might still be alive, even though most people thought he had died.
The Nobel Prize in Economics will be given out on October 14. Buterin’s selection shows that cryptocurrency’s effect on modern economies is becoming more widely known. Buterin is a major figure in the field, and his possible run for office shows how technology and economics are connected. His impact will continue to shape the future of finance.
