The founder of Avalanche believes that the crypto industry is too focused on possible crypto disruption. According to him, artificial intelligence could first exploit flaws already present in software and wallets.
In brief
- Emin Gün Sirer judges the debate on AI and crypto security to be largely exaggerated and first points to software bugs.
- He believes that the code of Ripple and other networks could hide flaws that AI will detect more easily than humans.
- No specific vulnerability was reported in this debate, launched on October 7 by researcher Justin Drake.
AI threat reignites debate over Ethereum security
The debate gained momentum on October 7, when Justin Drake, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, called on the industry to prepare for a “bunker mode.” In particular, he recommends transferring funds to addresses that have never been used, in order to keep public keys hidden behind a hash function.
His concern concerns ECDSA, the signature mechanism used by many wallets. According to his scenario, mathematical progress accelerated by AI could weaken this system in a few months, rather than several years.
This hypothesis provoked contrasting reactions. Coinbase’s Yehuda Lindell sharply criticized the prospect, while Ledger’s CTO highlighted the risks of a rushed migration. Vitalik Buterin recognizes the existence of a serious risk without calling for urgent action.
Emin Gün Sirer focuses first on software flaws
On October 9, the Avalanche founder took a stand on The debate over the threat that AI poses to crypto is mostly talk », he writes. In his eyes, AI will find flaws in existing systems long before breaking ECDSA. These vulnerabilities could allow attackers to steal billions of dollars from software libraries and wallets.
Sirer notably cites Ripple and other networks which concentrate high value without benefiting from in-depth examination of their code. According to him, believing that no flaw difficult for a human to spot escapes developers is an illusion. AI could facilitate the discovery of these vulnerabilities, sometimes unknown to publishers and exploited before their correction.
However, Sirer does not completely rule out cryptographic risk. He considers it relevant to prepare emergency solutions and indicates that Avalanche is exploring alternatives based on hashing. However, he believes that securing existing code must come first.
Recent incidents strengthen his argument. The crypto sector lost $766 million in September. Additionally, a security team showed this summer that AI could detect 85 critical vulnerabilities.
Cryptography or bugs: two risks to anticipate
These two threats remain distinct. A breakdown of ECDSA would potentially compromise the security of many cryptographic keys. Conversely, software flaws already expose users to attacks, without waiting for a mathematical breakthrough.
The issue also concerns Bitcoin: more than six million bitcoins would be based on already visible public keys, or more than 31% of the circulating supply. The migration advocated by Drake aims to reduce this exposure, but it does not resolve software vulnerabilities.
The debate therefore remains open. While awaiting possible progress capable of weakening cryptographic signatures, developers must also strengthen the systems that protect funds. To delve deeper into these issues, find Tremplin.io’s articles dedicated to artificial intelligence.
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