Ethereum researchers have advised cryptocurrency users to consider migrating funds to new addresses, citing concerns that advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) could compromise private-key security before quantum computing does. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin supported this warning, responding to a post by Ethereum researcher Justin Drake, who suggested that the industry prepare for 'bunker mode' due to the potential for AI to break the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) that secures cryptocurrency wallets. Drake recommended a gradual migration of funds to fresh wallets where public keys are not exposed.
Buterin stated, 'I don’t recommend anyone scramble to move their funds to new wallets today. But we should take the risks to cryptography from AI-accelerated math seriously.' Drake's concerns arose after OpenAI released numerous mathematical findings, demonstrating rapid advancements in AI's capabilities in various mathematical fields. He noted that a team of 10,000 autonomous AI agents recently solved the Navier-Stokes equation in 88 hours, highlighting the speed of AI progress.
Drake expressed that recent developments have challenged long-held mathematical hypotheses, suggesting that elliptic curves might be particularly susceptible to superintelligence. Buterin extended these concerns to lattice-based cryptography, warning that systems thought to be secure against quantum attacks could also be affected by AI advancements. He remarked, 'So far most people have been in the mode of thinking “elliptic curves broken, hashes safe, lattices safe.” But there is a good chance that the concrete security of lattices will take serious hits from the next two years of AI math.'
Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi echoed the need for caution, describing Drake’s warning as 'a very sober call.' He emphasized that the risk stems from conventional mathematics potentially overturning unproven cryptographic hardness assumptions. Both researchers advised that cryptocurrency holders could mitigate risk by keeping funds in addresses with unrevealed public keys. Drake recommended that large crypto holders should be the first to migrate their funds, and Buterin supported this precaution if it is straightforward to implement, while also warning of risks associated with moving funds. 'I personally have lost more money in botched migrations than I have lost in all hacks combined,' Buterin stated. Drake cautioned that any migration should be gradual and well-managed to avoid potential harm.