Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said advances in AI-assisted mathematical research could create new security pressure for today’s cryptographic systems, with lattice-based cryptography among the areas he sees as especially exposed. In a post on X, Buterin pointed to schemes including ML-DSA and fully homomorphic encryption, or FHE, and said progress over the next two years could materially reduce the practical security of lattice cryptography. He also warned that ECDSA could face break risks earlier than many expect.
Buterin said Ethereum’s Lean roadmap has been shifting over the past year toward pure hash-based cryptographic approaches, while avoiding lattice-based signatures and related zero-knowledge proof structures. He recommended using hash-based cryptography where feasible and applying more conservative security parameters to lattice-based systems.
He also offered operational guidance. Privacy protocols, he said, should avoid storing encrypted data directly on-chain where possible. Multisig wallets should favor off-chain signature confirmation. For users, he suggested keeping funds in addresses that have not yet initiated transactions when convenient, though he did not advise an immediate large-scale asset migration. Buterin added that migration itself carries risk, saying losses from his own migration mistakes have exceeded those caused by hacks he has experienced.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in a post on X that AI-accelerated mathematical research could create a new security threat for existing cryptographic systems, especially lattice-based cryptography, including ML-DSA and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE).
He said progress in AI-driven mathematics over the next two years could significantly weaken the practical security of lattice cryptography. ECDSA, he added, could also face the risk of being broken sooner than expected.
Ethereum’s Lean roadmap shifts toward hash-based cryptography
Buterin said Ethereum’s Lean roadmap has gradually been moving over the past year toward pure hash-based cryptographic schemes, while avoiding lattice-based signatures and related zero-knowledge proof structures.
Protocol and wallet recommendations
He recommended prioritizing hash-based cryptography where feasible and using more conservative security parameters for lattice-based systems.
For privacy protocols, Buterin said encrypted information should be kept off-chain where possible rather than stored directly on-chain. For multisig wallets, he said off-chain signature confirmation should be the preferred approach.
For users, he suggested storing funds, when operationally convenient, in addresses that have not initiated transactions, as a way to reduce potential risk. At the same time, he said users should not rush into large-scale asset migrations.
Buterin added that migration itself carries risk. He said losses caused by his own migration mistakes have even exceeded the losses he suffered across past hacking incidents.
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