Author: Tristan Greene, CoinTelegraph; Translator: Baishui, Golden Finance
Economists Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, founders of Marginal Revolution, recently selected who might win the upcoming 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics.
The discussion took place during the pair's Marginal Revolution podcast on October 8.
Cowen called it an "unusual choice" and would have chosen Ethereum co-founder and computer scientist Vitalik Buterin if given the chance.
As he and co-host Tabarrok discussed their views on the merits of theoretical economics, the two agreed that Buterin should have won the prize because "he has really made contributions to monetary economics."
Koven:
“Vitalik built a platform, created a currency, arguably disproved Mises’ regression theorem in the process, and is clearly following in Satoshi’s footsteps, but gosh, what does one have to do to win a Nobel Prize?”
Tabarrok agreed, adding: “Not only that, Vitalik continues to contribute to Ethereum’s mechanism design by adopting proof-of-stake.”
He likened Ethereum’s progression from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake to “those videos of guys in Saudi Arabia changing tires on a car while it’s moving.”
“That’s what Ethereum does,” Tabarrok added.
The two also discussed Buterin’s seemingly easygoing personality, calling him a representative of the cryptocurrency world and seen as a smart and likable guy.
However, Tabarrok did point out that Buterin’s contribution to cryptocurrency is second only to Bitcoin’s anonymous creator. “Yeah, I agree. Of course, Satoshi should get it too, but I’m sure he’s dead,” he said, prompting Cowen to retort, “I’m not sure he’s dead.”
An HBO documentary allegedly revealed the true identity of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, as computer scientist Peter Todd on Oct. 8.
The cryptocurrency community, in general, does not seem convinced, however, and Todd himself has denied the veracity of the filmmaker’s claims.
The winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics will be announced on Oct. 14.