Dragonfly partner rejects ‘bunker mode,’ urges proactive blockchain measures
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Written by
Simonas Brazionis - Updated 2026-10-13 18:39:07
A Dragonfly partner, Haseeb Qureshi, has dismissed Ethereum researcher Justin Drake's “bunker mode” warning as “cryptographic doomerism.” Qureshi argued that migrating tokens to new addresses does not provide a sustainable defense against artificial intelligence compromising cryptographic signatures.
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Critique of ‘Bunker Mode' and Proposed Alternative
Qureshi explained that “bunker mode” would only safeguard investors' assets as long as they remained in the new address. He contended that these assets would lose value if other coins were simultaneously compromised and sold en masse.
Instead, Qureshi advocated for blockchain networks to proactively implement measures to protect users from AI-driven cryptographic signature breaches. He proposed a “Cryptographic Recovery Mode,” which involves a hash-based backup signature plan that users could link to their addresses, enabling validators to initiate recovery if signatures are broken.
Vulnerability of Bitcoin Supply to Cryptographic Attacks
Glassnode data indicates that the potential for AI or quantum computers to break cryptographic signatures could jeopardize over 31% of the Bitcoin supply, equating to 6.26 million Bitcoin (BTC) currently residing in vulnerable addresses.
Of this amount, approximately 4.33 million BTC are exposed due to address reuse, a risk that could be mitigated by moving these coins to new addresses. An additional 1.94 million BTC are vulnerable because of their address format, as noted by Glassnode co-founder Rafael Schultze-Kraft.
Nearly 1.8 million BTC of the total exposed supply are held on cryptocurrency exchanges, representing 57% of all exchange balances currently at risk.
Ethereum Researchers' Warnings and AI Advancements
Ethereum researcher Justin Drake had previously warned that rapid AI advancements could compromise the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) protecting cryptocurrency wallets sooner than anticipated, potentially within months.
Drake suggested users gradually transfer funds to new wallets where their public key is not exposed, citing an OpenAI report on AI's progress in mathematics. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin acknowledged the seriousness of “AI-accelerated math” risks but did not advise users to hastily move their funds.
