Crypto users renew calls for Satoshi Nakamoto to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics

by · October 13, 2022

Bitcoin (BTC) enthusiasts on social media platforms have reiterated their annual petition to have the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences awarded to Satoshi Nakamoto.

On 10 October, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced three recipients of the economic award – former central bank governor Ben Bernanke, and American economists Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig – for “research on banks and financial crises”. Many crypto-enthusiasts have argued for years that Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, was the most deserving candidate for the economic prize, which was first instituted in 1968, “according to the same principles as for the Nobel Prizes that have been awarded since 1901, ” according to the description from the institution.

“In 2008: Bernanke printed money to bail out banks that inflated a subprime debt bubble that caused a global financial crisis,” so crypto artist Lucho Polleti on Twitter. “Satoshi created #Bitcoin, a monetary system that gives all people financial freedom through the separation of money and state. Satoshi deserves a Nobel Prize.”

Some people, including crypto podcasters and Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano, have previously said that Satoshi was entitled to more than just an economics award. Pomp tweeted in 2019 that BTC’s creator deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for establishing “a currency that can assume global reserve status without anyone having to engage in violence.”

Others such as former Blockstream Chief Strategy Officer Samson Mow have argued that neither price applies as they are symbolic of an outdated system:

It is unclear whether Nakamoto would be eligible to receive any of the awards, as their identities have never been revealed publicly. It might make more sense to honor other well-known early contributors to the ecosystem, such as former BTC core developer Gavin Andresen, or developer and receiver of the first Bitcoin transaction, Hal Finney. However, Finney passed in 2014 and a Nobel Prize “cannot be awarded posthumously” according to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation.

Related: “How I met Satoshi”: The mission to teach 100 million people about Bitcoin by 2030

Although not the winner of the economics award this year, Nakamoto has been publicly honored by many crypto users in a variety of ways. In September 2021, a crypto group erected a bronze statue of the legendary Bitcoin creator in a park in Budapest. Nakamoto continues to be the subject of crypto-related art, memes, online discussions and speculation about their identity – as an individual or a group.