Vitalik Buterin warns AI-driven mathematical advances could threaten assumptions behind elliptic curves and lattice cryptography. Justin Drake urges controlled migration to fresh addresses wi
Vitalik Buterin and Bitcoin security researcher Justin Drake have urged crypto users to prepare for possible AI-driven attacks on cryptography. Buterin advised against rushed wallet moves, while Drake called for controlled migration to fresh addresses as AI advances threaten assumptions behind ECDSA, lattices, and other cryptographic systems.
Buterin said AI-accelerated mathematics could create risks beyond quantum computing. He identified ML-DSA, fully homomorphic encryption, and lattice systems as areas requiring greater caution. He said many users assume elliptic curves could fail while hashes and lattices remain safe.
However, he warned lattice security could also face major advances from AI mathematics. Buterin compared the risk with advances in factoring. Decades of research reduced the cost of factoring through increasingly advanced number field sieves.
He said similar hidden weaknesses could exist in elliptic curves and lattices. Bots could potentially discover mathematical shortcuts that humans have not found.
Buterin said Ethereum's lean roadmap has moved toward hash-only cryptography during the past year. The approach avoids lattices, ML-DSA, Falcon, and lattice-based commitments in zero-knowledge proofs.
He said Ethereum signatures use hash-based systems, including WOTS and SPHINCS-. However, public-key encryption remains harder because hashes alone cannot provide the required trapdoor structure.
That structure can involve group theory, isogenies, lattices, or code-based systems. Buterin said long-term security may require much larger key sizes for structured cryptography.
He also said hash-based systems could become more efficient than lattice systems at larger security parameters. He considers major breakthroughs against hashes less likely.
Drake urged the blockchain industry to begin planning for “bunker mode” through controlled asset migration. He recommended fresh addresses whose public keys remain hidden behind hashes.
He said large holders should consider moving funds to addresses that never signed transactions. After signing, he recommended moving remaining funds to another address. However, Drake stressed that users should not rush.
He said rushed migrations could cause more damage and noted Buterin's warning about migration mistakes. Drake said ECDSA could potentially break before quantum computing becomes practical.
He cited recent mathematical breakthroughs and OpenAI's latest work as reasons for greater caution. He also urged institutions to harden cold storage and suggested rotating signer keys.
For multisig systems, Buterin recommended offchain confirmations to reduce public key exposure. Drake also highlighted SPHINCS for hash-based multisigning and called for faster development of post-AI cryptography.
