Ethereum researcher Justin Drake calls for 'bunker mode' planning
Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake is calling on the blockchain industry to start planning for "bunker mode," warning that it is reasonable to prepare for the possibility that a widely used cryptographic system could be broken.
Drake said the worst case could come in "months not years," potentially allowing private keys to be recovered quickly. He stressed that existing cryptography has not already been broken and warned holders not to panic or rush.
He recommended that crypto holders, starting with large and sophisticated ones, move most of their funds to fresh addresses that have never signed a transaction, keeping their public keys hidden.
Drake linked his warning partly to recent advances in AI-generated mathematics and said Ethereum's draft roadmap already moves toward hash-based cryptography and formal verification to prepare for quantum risks.
Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake is calling on the blockchain industry to start planning for "bunker mode," warning that it is reasonable to prepare for the possibility that a widely used cryptographic system could be broken.
Drake said the worst case could come in "months not years," potentially allowing private keys to be recovered quickly. He stressed that existing cryptography has not already been broken and warned holders not to panic or rush.
He recommended that crypto holders, starting with large and sophisticated ones, move most of their funds to fresh addresses that have never signed a transaction, keeping their public keys hidden.
Drake linked his warning partly to recent advances in AI-generated mathematics and said Ethereum's draft roadmap already moves toward hash-based cryptography and formal verification to prepare for quantum risks.