Ethereum researcher Justin Drake has proposed a four-step strategy to safeguard cryptocurrency assets against potential AI-driven security threats. The primary recommendation involves migrating funds to new, unused wallet addresses. An address that has never initiated a transaction keeps the owner's private key concealed, as only a hashed version of the public key is visible on the blockchain.
Drake advises users to generate fresh addresses for every transaction, noting that these can be derived from existing seed phrases. He emphasizes that this process should be handled methodically rather than as an emergency. The researcher suggests that wallets containing less than 50 BTC currently have partial protection, while approximately 6,04 million BTC are stored behind visible keys, according to data from Glassnode.
While no current research confirms that Bitcoin or Ethereum cryptography has been compromised, Drake warns that AI could theoretically enable attackers to derive private keys from public ones. He specifically identified Binance, Robinhood, Bitfinex, and Tether as companies that should prioritize hardening their offline reserve wallets. Additionally, he called for accelerating Ethereum's transition to SHA or BLAKE hash-based security.
Drake cautioned against panic-driven migrations, stating that a rushed exodus could lead to more harm than good. He clarified that his proposed security measures do not require the installation of new software or the acquisition of new wallets. Despite the warnings, he noted that the worst-case scenario of a security breach could potentially occur within months.
