Two economists recently discussed the upcoming Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and the possible outcome of this year's ceremony, naming ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin as their unconventional choice for his contribution to cryptocurrencies.
Economists make non-traditional choice for Nobel Prize in Economics
On Tuesday, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabbarok discussed their predictions for the next winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. In The Marginal Revolution podcast, the two economists shared their opinions on “questionable” past winners and who they thought could win the award this year, exploring a non-traditional choice like Vitalik Buterin.
Cowen proposed the ethereum founder as his unusual choice, citing his contributions to cryptocurrencies. He considers that Buterin, unlike the economists who come to mind, “actually did something about monetary economics” and contributed to the “theory of cryptocurrencies.”
Tabbarok agreed with his co-host, noting that economists are starting to take more interest in the industry “as it has become a larger part of the economy,” but noted that all of the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies were developed by computer scientists.
Furthermore, he argued that cryptocurrencies are a “mechanism design applied in the world,” noting that bitcoin and ethereum are incredible examples. Tabbarok emphasized that they are working in the real world, although many would have considered it “impossible” years ago.
Cowen also listed Vitalik Buterin's contributions, questioning what else would be needed for him to be considered for ethereum founder candidacy:
Vitalik built a platform, created a currency you could say, disproved Mises' regression theorem in the process, obviously following in Satoshi's footsteps, but my goodness, what does someone have to do to get a Nobel Prize?
ethereum founder's case for the award
The economist also highlighted the network's performance, highlighting eth's hundreds of billions of dollars in market valuation. At the time of writing, ethereum is the largest chain by total value locked (TVL), with $45.9 billion and 57.4% dominance.
Meanwhile, eth, the second-largest cryptocurrency powering the ethereum ecosystem, has a market capitalization of nearly $293 billion, according to CoinMarketCap Data.
Adding to Buterin's case, Tabbarok noted that the founder of ethereum has continuously contributed to the design of the network mechanism by moving from a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS).
The economist considered keeping the network running while the change was being made a remarkable feat. “Have you ever seen those videos of these guys in Saudi Arabia where they change the tires on the car while the car is moving? That's what ethereum did. Incredible,” said Tabbarok.
Cowen also argued that Buterin's contribution on monetary economics is noteworthy, as it exceeds that of other economists on many related topics: “There is no economist who has anything better to say about the topics he writes about. And that, for me, is worth a lot in this consideration.”
To conclude their case for ethereum founder candidacy, the economists highlighted Buterin's charitable work, citing his numerous crypto donations worth millions of dollars to different charities.
The economist briefly weighed in on the ongoing debate over the whereabouts of the bitcoin creator. Tabbarok suggested that Satoshi Nakamoto should have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, but shared that he doesn't see it as possible since Nakamoto is probably dead.
In the end, Cowen refuted his colleague's theory about bitcoin creator status, but agreed that he would not receive the award because he doesn't “believe you can give it to someone you can't identify.”
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