Ethereum researcher Justin Drake is urging the crypto industry to prepare for what he calls "bunker mode," warning that fast-advancing AI could eventually find a way to break ECDSA, the signature scheme that secures Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions. He wants large holders to start planning now, calmly, for a controlled move of funds to fresh addresses whose public keys have never appeared on-chain.
Justin Drake, a top Ethereum researcher, is urging the crypto community to start planning for "bunker mode," arguing that the pace of AI progress could eventually expose weaknesses in the cryptography protecting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major blockchains. He is asking sophisticated holders to think ahead about moving funds to new addresses with public keys that have never been revealed on-chain.
The ECDSA risk Drake is flagging
The concern centers on the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm, or ECDSA, the method commonly used to approve crypto transactions. Drake is asking the industry to consider a theoretical extreme case in which ECDSA is broken by classical computers before the arrival of so-called "Q-day," the point at which quantum computers reach sufficient power.
In the worst-case scenario Drake describes, a hypothetical breakthrough could let someone extract a private key from a public key in approximately 1 week using existing hardware. There is currently no publicly known attack capable of this on the curves used by major cryptocurrencies, and Drake frames his warning as preparation rather than a reaction to any existing compromise.
Why AI changes the calculus
Drake argues that as AI systems grow more capable, mathematical discovery could accelerate sharply, potentially surfacing algorithms that may escape human eyes. He points to recent mathematical advances that overturned long-standing assumptions as evidence that even well-established complexity bounds can fall unexpectedly.
He also cites OpenAI's progress in mathematical reasoning, suggesting a "mathematical superintelligence" could drive discovery at a pace never seen before. According to Drake: "Today I call upon the blockchain industry to calmly start planning for bunker mode". He adds that users should not rush or panic, since the same preparation can be carried out with existing wallets and infrastructure.
Drake is careful to separate the theoretical risk from today's reality. There is no evidence that AI has broken ECDSA, RSA, or the underlying cryptography securing Bitcoin and Ethereum, and his proposal remains a precautionary measure rather than a response to any known breach.
Source: U.Today
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