Ethereum researchers urge crypto 'bunker mode' as AI advances threaten wallet security

AI math breakthroughs spark crypto security concerns

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has joined researcher Justin Drake in warning that advances in artificial intelligence could break the cryptography protecting cryptocurrency wallets sooner than many expect.

Drake urged the crypto industry to prepare for "bunker mode," saying AI could eventually crack the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) — the math used to secure most crypto wallets — before quantum computers become a threat.

Buterin said he does not recommend anyone rush to move their funds today, but added that "we should take the risks to cryptography from AI-accelerated math seriously."

What researchers are recommending

• Drake suggested a controlled migration of assets to fresh addresses where the public key has not been revealed, calling it a practical way to reduce exposure now.
• Buterin supported the idea if it is straightforward for the user, noting that keeping funds in addresses that have never been used to make a transaction is a good precaution.
• Both warned that rushed or botched migrations can cause real losses. Buterin said he has personally lost more money in failed migrations than in all hacks combined.

Why the timing matters

Drake said his concerns came after OpenAI released hundreds of new mathematical findings across algebra, theoretical computer science and mathematical logic. Last month, the company also used 10,000 autonomous AI agents working in parallel to solve the Navier-Stokes equation — one of the most famous unsolved problems in mathematics and physics — in just 88 hours.

"Recent days have been humbling for human mathematical intuition. Long-held, unquestioned hypotheses have fallen," Drake wrote, adding that elliptic curves could be especially vulnerable because they carry rich algebraic structure that AI might exploit.

Risks extend beyond current encryption

Buterin flagged that the problem may not be limited to the elliptic curves used today. He warned that lattice-based cryptography — systems designed to resist quantum attacks — could also suffer from AI-driven mathematical progress in the next two years.

Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi called Drake's warning "a very sober call" and noted the risk comes from conventional mathematics overturning unproven cryptographic assumptions, not just from quantum computing.

Why this matters for crypto holders

The warnings highlight a shifting view of crypto security. For years, the main concern has been that quantum computers will one day break current encryption. Now researchers are saying AI itself may advance fast enough to challenge that encryption in the near term.

The guidance from both Drake and Buterin is cautious: take the risk seriously, but avoid panic. Moving funds to fresh addresses could reduce exposure for those who can do so easily, while recognizing that a poorly planned migration carries its own dangers.

What happens next

Ethereum's roadmap has already been moving in a "hash-only" direction, which Buterin cited as one reason why the network may be better positioned than some others to weather these kinds of cryptographic challenges.

Sources

• Cointelegraph