Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, stated on October 7, 2026, that public-key cryptography requires further parameter upgrades to achieve long-term stability. He specifically highlighted risks to lattice-based schemes, such as ML-DSA and Falcon, which could be weakened by advancements in AI-driven mathematics within two years.
To mitigate these potential threats, Buterin proposed increasing lattice key sizes by a factor of ten, particularly for applications like VPNs and secure messaging. He noted that while he prefers hash-based cryptography for security, public-key systems still require structured mathematical objects that hashes cannot provide.
For current users, Buterin recommended using fresh addresses for ECDSA signatures and utilizing off-chain confirmations for multisig transactions. Meanwhile, the Ethereum network is preparing for the Hegotá upgrade in 2027, which aims to shift the platform toward quantum-safe and AI-resilient designs.
Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, expressed skepticism regarding the necessity of increasing key sizes, citing a lack of concrete evidence that lattice schemes are currently vulnerable to AI-based attacks.
