Odaily Planet Daily reports that multiple blockchain and post-quantum cryptography researchers have warned that artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the development of quantum computing and may prematurely threaten the security of major blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Alex Pruden, CEO of Project Eleven, which focuses on quantum-resistant infrastructure, said that the combination of AI and quantum computing is fundamentally transforming the future of security: “People will no longer be able to rely on existing security assumptions as they have in the past.”
Researchers note that AI has been used to optimize quantum error correction, a key technological bottleneck in the development of quantum computing. Illia Polosukhin also stated that AI has been accelerating scientific breakthroughs for years, and in the future, a cyclical acceleration effect may emerge where AI helps build the next generation of quantum computers.
One of the biggest concerns in the industry today is the “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” strategy, in which governments or sophisticated attackers are already collecting encrypted data on a large scale, waiting to decrypt it en masse once quantum computing becomes viable. Polosukhin warned that if quantum computers mature within a few years, “most of today’s critical data on the internet could be decrypted in the future.”
Since most current blockchain networks and internet infrastructure widely use elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could theoretically derive private keys from public keys, directly compromising wallets and on-chain systems. Meanwhile, AI itself is enhancing hackers' offensive capabilities. Pruden notes that AI models are becoming increasingly adept at identifying software vulnerabilities, flaws in cryptographic implementations, and may even eventually break certain encryption algorithms directly.
However, AI is also being used by developers for code auditing, formal verification, and testing post-quantum security systems, creating a long-term security arms race with advancements on both offensive and defensive fronts. Researchers believe that the most significant change brought by AI and quantum computing together is that the foundational assumption of “long-term cryptographic reliability” in the digital age is being undermined, and future security systems may shift from static upgrades to continuous dynamic evolution. (CoinDesk)