Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake (@drakefjustin) is calling on the crypto industry to begin what he describes as calm, deliberate "bunker mode" planning, warning that the cryptogra
Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake (@drakefjustin) is calling on the crypto industry to begin what he describes as calm, deliberate "bunker mode" planning, warning that the cryptographic system securing most blockchain wallets could be compromised sooner than the industry has assumed.
Drake's concern centres on the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), which Bitcoin and Ethereum use to confirm that transactions were approved by the correct private key holder. The longstanding fear has been that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer, once available, could work backward from an exposed public key to recover the corresponding private key. But Drake's warning goes a step further.
He points to recent advances in AI, particularly around mathematical breakthroughs, as a reason to believe that ECDSA could be broken before quantum computers reach that milestone.Drake described a break as the ability to recover a private key quickly, for example within one week using a large GPU cluster, and said the worst case could arrive in "months not years."
On Ethereum, an account that sends a transaction reveals its public key on-chain. An account that has only received Ether exposes an address hash rather than the public key itself, making previously used addresses the primary area of concern.
His recommendation is a controlled, gradual migration of funds to fresh addresses that have never signed a transaction, keeping public keys hidden behind a hash.Drake stressed that the process should not be rushed or driven by panic, describing the migration as a preventative measure that does not require new wallets or new cryptographic technology.
He also made clear that current cryptography has not been broken and that this is a precautionary step in response to a shifting risk landscape. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has supported taking AI cryptographic risks seriously but also cautions against rushing wallet migrations.
The broader context matters here. Quantum computing is emerging as a growing risk for digital assets, with Wall Street bank Citi warning that recent breakthroughs are accelerating the timeline for potential threats to crypto security and internet infrastructure. On the network level, the Ethereum Foundation formed a dedicated Post-Quantum Security team in January 2026, with a roadmap currently targeting approximately 2029 for completing core post-quantum infrastructure.
For now, Drake's message is measured: the risk has moved from theoretical to plausible, and the time to prepare calmly is before a crisis, not during one.
Sources:The Block: Ethereum researcher Justin Drake calls for bunker mode planningDecrypt: Ethereum Researcher Says AI May Break Encryption Before Quantum DoesCoinDesk: Bitcoin more exposed to quantum risks than Ethereum, Citi says
