Renowned economist Tyler Cowen has thrown his support behind Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin for the upcoming Nobel Prize in Economics. In a podcast with fellow economist Alex Tabarrok, Cowen argued that Buterin’s contributions to cryptocurrency’s monetary economics are unparalleled.
Cowen praised Buterin for his role in building Ethereum, a platform designed to support decentralized applications and financial solutions. He noted that Ethereum’s innovative design surpasses the capabilities of Bitcoin, the world’s first blockchain project.
“Vitalik built a platform, created a currency, you could say, refuted Mises’ regression theorem in the process, obviously following in the footsteps of Satoshi (Nakamoto), but my goodness, what does someone have to do to get a Nobel Prize?” Cowen exclaimed.
Both economists were particularly impressed by Buterin’s successful transition of Ethereum from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, a feat they described as incredibly complex. “You ever seen those videos of these guys in Saudi Arabia where they change the car tires while the car is moving? That’s what Ethereum did. Incredible,” Tabarrok said.
Beyond his technical expertise, Cowen also highlighted Buterin’s personable qualities. He described him as “super polite” and someone who would be “wonderful at the ceremony.” Cowen also acknowledged Buterin’s philanthropic efforts, adding to his case for the prestigious award.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, commonly known as the Economics Nobel, will be awarded on October 14th. With Ethereum’s current standing as the largest blockchain by total value locked, exceeding $44 billion, and its native cryptocurrency ETH boasting a market capitalization of over $293 billion, Buterin’s nomination has sparked considerable interest in the crypto community.
