Wu said that well-known economist Tyler Cowen nominated Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Economics in a podcast with Alex Tabarrok, saying that his contribution to cryptocurrency monetary economics "far exceeds that of other economists." Cowen said: "Vitalik built a platform, created a currency, and even overturned Mises' regression theorem. His achievements deserve the Nobel Prize." The two economists also highly praised Vitalik's feat of successfully transforming Ethereum from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS). Tabbarrok described the process as "changing tires on a moving car" and called it "an incredible achievement." Cowen also specifically mentioned Vitalik's humility and philanthropy, believing that he is an excellent candidate for the Nobel Prize.