Vitalik Buterin Misses 2024 Nobel Prize

- Vitalik Buterin Considered for 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics but Ultimately Misses Out - Political Economists Who Studied Wealth Inequality Win Nobel Prize in Economics [Unblock Media] Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, was mentioned as a candidate for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics. Although he did not win, this serves as an important milestone in raising awareness of the significance of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in academic and economic circles. This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to political economists Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, professors at MIT, and James Robinson, professor at the University of Chicago, for their research on the causes and solutions to wealth inequality between nations. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Nobel Committee announced that it had selected these three scholars as awardees because "why some countries are poor and others are prosperous, and why wealth inequality persists, are among the most urgent issues in social science." Their work was recognized for elucidating the causal relationship between national prosperity and institutions. Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, in their Marginal Revolution podcast, noted the remarkable fact that Vitalik Buterin was mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Economics despite not being a traditional economist. Buterin created the Ethereum platform and its cryptocurrency, Ether, and brought about revolutionary achievements in economic theory through the transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. This method is more energy efficient than the traditional proof-of-work system and plays an important role in enhancing network security. The process of transitioning Ethereum from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake was particularly challenging, often compared to "changing a tire while the car is moving." Indeed, this transition reduced energy consumption by approximately 99.95%, lowering it from about 100 terawatt-hours per year to around 0.01 terawatt-hours, positively impacting the environment. Buterin is also recognized for his intellectual and sociable personality. He has inspired many by passionately explaining his vision at various international conferences and discussions. A notable example is his presentation on the future of Ethereum at DEVCON1 in 2015. The comparison with Satoshi Nakamoto is also intriguing. Satoshi Nakamoto is the creator of Bitcoin and the pioneer of blockchain technology. In contrast, Buterin advanced this by enabling a variety of applications through Ethereum, thus expanding the scope of blockchain’s utilization and deeply integrating it into economic systems. Tabarrok argued that while Satoshi Nakamoto deserves a Nobel Prize, his existence is still uncertain. Satoshi could be alive or might have already passed away, whereas Buterin’s achievements are independently meritorious. Being nominated for the Nobel Prize in Economics highlights that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are emerging as significant topics in both academic and economic fields.