Bitcoin and ether holders urged to enter ‘bunker mode’ against possible AI attacks
A blockchain industry figure has advised crypto holders to move funds to new addresses to protect against potential AI-driven decryption attacks. The warning follows OpenAI's release of advanced mathematical models that could theoretically threaten current cryptographic security standards.
Why it matters
This reflects growing anxiety regarding the intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, specifically concerning the vulnerability of existing blockchain encryption.
"Today I call upon the blockchain industry to calmly start planning for 'bunker mode,'" Drake wrote on X on Wednesday, urging large holders to begin a gradual move of their funds to fresh addresses.
A wallet uses a secret number, called a private key, to authorize payments. A related public key lets the network check those approvals. Generating the public key is easy, but working backward from it to the secret is supposed to take an impractical amount of computing work.
Drake's concern is that AI may help someone find a shortcut, letting an attacker recover the secret and spend the coins on ordinary computers, with no need for the quantum machines the industry has been preparing for.
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