TLDR:
Charles Hoskinson rejected Vitalik Buterin’s warning that AI could uncover major weaknesses in lattice-based cryptography.
Hoskinson argued that decades of research have already tested lattice systems against known attacks and shaped current security parameters.
He disputed Buterin’s suggestion to increase lattice key sizes by 10 times, calling the proposal unsupported by attack-cost calculations.
Hoskinson also challenged Ethereum’s hash-only approach and warned against abandoning ML-KEM before a practical attack is found.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has challenged Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s warning that artificial intelligence could weaken lattice-based cryptography. Hoskinson argued that decades of security research already account for known attacks, while Buterin’s concerns lack supporting evidence. The disagreement follows Buterin’s warning about AI threats to cryptography, which questioned the long-term safety of several post-quantum security methods.
Charles Hoskinson Rejects Vitalik Buterin’s Warning About Lattice Cryptography
Hoskinson argued that Buterin’s concerns rely on assumptions about mathematical breakthroughs rather than demonstrated weaknesses in existing cryptographic systems. Buterin had suggested that AI could discover previously unknown weaknesses in lattice-based cryptography within two years.
Vitalik is now trying to convince everyone that lattices are bad because he is bag-holding too much hash-based crypto research can't back out. The case against lattices is the GNFS story, a.k.a. a hunch about "structure," and a multiplier pulled out of thin air. None of it has… https://t.co/ryeeCwlENo
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) October 9, 2026
He compared that possibility with advances in integer factoring that eventually made older RSA security assumptions less reliable. However, Hoskinson rejected the comparison, arguing that factoring breakthroughs depended on specific mathematical properties that researchers had identified and exploited.
He explained that lattice cryptography has undergone decades of research, including improvements in algorithms used to attack these systems. According to Hoskinson, ML-KEM and ML-DSA’s security parameters already account for established attacks and their computational costs.
He also challenged Buterin’s suggestion that lattice-based encryption keys might need to become ten times larger. “Multiply key sizes by ten is numerology,” Hoskinson wrote, arguing that parameter changes must follow measurable improvements in attack methods.
He explained that a 20% improvement in attack efficiency could require approximately 25% larger dimensions under certain assumptions. The dispute comes as Cardano continues its own research into quantum-resistant security. In May, Hoskinson confirmed that Cardano was preparing a governance strategy addressing future quantum computing threats.
Hoskinson also defended the existing process for testing cryptographic systems, pointing to earlier attacks discovered during security reviews. He cited the failures of Rainbow and SIKE, two post-quantum candidates whose weaknesses emerged during public evaluation.
Those cases showed how researchers can spot vulnerabilities before affected cryptographic methods are widely deployed. Hoskinson maintained that new AI-assisted attacks should undergo similar testing before developers abandon established security approaches.
Hoskinson Questions Ethereum’s Hash-Based Security Strategy
The disagreement also concerns Ethereum’s growing preference for hash-based cryptography, which Buterin considers less exposed to certain mathematical attacks. Buterin has argued that AI could accelerate mathematical research enough to weaken lattice-based systems previously considered resistant to quantum computers.
His Ethereum security roadmap places greater emphasis on hash-based signatures, including WOTS and SPHINCS. However, Hoskinson disputed the assumption that hash-based systems are inherently safer because they appear to contain less exploitable mathematical structure.
Vitalik pointed to historical attacks against MD5 and SHA-1, arguing that hash functions have also suffered serious security failures. Hoskinson further questioned Ethereum’s reliance on Poseidon and Poseidon2, which use mathematical structures designed for efficient cryptographic proofs.
He argued that these designs also require careful security analysis because their algebraic properties could become targets for future attacks. The criticism comes as Ethereum continues developing quantum-resistant upgrades alongside improvements to privacy and transaction verification.
Buterin has also recommended caution when using older wallet addresses, although he warned against rushing into potentially unsafe migrations. Hoskinson raised a separate concern about discouraging the adoption of lattice-based encryption before researchers identify a practical weakness.
He pointed to hybrid ML-KEM deployments in browsers and messaging applications, which combine established encryption with post-quantum protection. According to Hoskinson, unnecessary doubts about these systems could delay upgrades while organizations continue relying on older cryptographic methods.
The debate comes as Ethereum developers work toward post-quantum security upgrades planned through 2029. Hoskinson maintained that security decisions should follow tested attacks, measurable costs, and practical deployment requirements rather than predictions about AI breakthroughs.
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