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Emin Gün Sirer, founder of the Avalanche blockchain, said the crypto industry is concentrating on the wrong threat. In an October 9 post on X, he argued that artificial intelligence will find flaws in existing software and wallets long before it breaks the cryptography those systems rely on, according to Cointribune.
His intervention pushed back on a debate that opened two days earlier, when Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake urged the industry to prepare a “bunker mode” — moving funds to addresses that have never been used, so public keys stay hidden behind a hash function. Drake’s concern is ECDSA, the signature mechanism behind many wallets, which he argued AI-accelerated mathematical progress could weaken within months rather than years.
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Key facts
- Sirer made his argument on X on October 9; Justin Drake opened the debate on October 7.
- Sirer said AI will find flaws in existing systems long before breaking ECDSA, and that attackers could steal billions of dollars from software libraries and wallets.
- He named Ripple and other networks as holding significant value without thorough code review.
- The crypto sector lost 766 million dollars in September, and a security team demonstrated this summer that AI could detect 85 critical vulnerabilities.
- Over six million bitcoins rely on already visible public keys, more than 31% of the circulating supply.
Two risks, not one
The two threats described in the debate are not the same thing. A break of ECDSA would compromise the cryptographic keys that secure a broad range of wallets and addresses. Software vulnerabilities, by contrast, are already being exploited — no mathematical breakthrough required. Sirer wrote that the discussion of AI as a cryptographic threat is largely just talk, and that flaws AI can find more easily than humans may already sit unnoticed in code whose publishers are unaware of them.
Reaction to Drake’s proposal was mixed. Yehuda Lindell of Coinbase criticised the perspective sharply, while Ledger’s technical director pointed to the risks of a rushed migration. Vitalik Buterin acknowledged a serious risk exists but did not call for urgent action. Sirer did not rule out the cryptographic scenario: he said preparing backup solutions is appropriate and that Avalanche is exploring hashing-based alternatives, though he put securing existing code first.
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No specific vulnerability has been reported in the exchange. Drake’s recommended migration, aimed at reducing exposure for coins whose public keys are already visible, would not address software bugs at all.
Why it matters
For holders, the practical difference is timing. A cryptographic break is a hypothetical future event that migration could soften; a software bug is an active attack surface, and September’s 766 million dollars in sector losses is the clearest evidence that it is being used. Sirer’s argument shifts the priority from a long-range mathematical scenario toward code review and auditing at networks that carry large amounts of value.
What to watch
Whether Avalanche publishes details of its hashing-based alternative, and whether Drake’s bunker-mode guidance turns into concrete migration practice at other networks. Neither side has reported a specific vulnerability, so any disclosure would reset the discussion.
This article is not financial advice. Crypto and AI-related markets are volatile and uncertain, and readers should do their own research before making any decision.
Reported by cointribune.com.
Source: Cointribune