Ethereum Researcher Says AI May Break Encryption Before Quantum Does

What happened

His recommendation is a controlled, mass migration of funds to fresh addresses that have never signed a transaction, which keep their public keys hidden behind a hash. Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake urged holders to calmly move funds to unused addresses, warning that AI-driven math could break crypto signatures before quantum computers do.

Decrypt News Technology Ethereum Researcher Says AI May Break Encryption Before Quantum Does Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake urged holders to calmly move funds to unused addresses, warning that AI-driven math could break crypto signatures before quantum computers do. In brief Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake called on the industry to plan for "bunker mode" by gradually moving funds to addresses whose public keys haven't been exposed.

He said ECDSA, the signature scheme behind Bitcoin and Ethereum, could break before Q-Day, in the worst case "in months not years," citing rapid AI-driven math advances. Drake urged holders not to panic or rush, and said he'll push to accelerate Ethereum's shift to hash-based cryptography. Justin Drake has spent years warning that quantum computers could one day crack crypto's cryptography.