Avalanche founder Emin Gün Sirer has warned that artificial intelligence could discover security flaws in the XRP Ledger before they are patched, potentially exposing the network to exploitation. His argument reframes the debate around blockchain security away from long-term cryptographic threats toward existing vulnerabilities in code.
In comments on X, Sirer contended that AI-driven vulnerability discovery will likely expose system-level bugs well before ECDSA, the widely used cryptographic method for signing transactions, becomes obsolete. He argued that advanced models could identify flaws in blockchain software, libraries, and wallets that humans have missed, and that attackers could exploit such bugs to steal billions of dollars before AI breaks widely used cryptography.
Sirer did not identify any specific unpatched XRP Ledger vulnerability or demonstrate an AI attack on the network. His comments represent a warning rather than a documented exploit.
Industry Debate Over AI and Cryptography
Sirer's position has divided crypto leaders. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently warned that AI-driven mathematical discovery could threaten lattice-based cryptography within two years. Ethereum researcher Justin Drake has expressed concern that AI could eventually attack ECDSA. In contrast, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson called such concerns speculative and said mathematical evidence does not support such predictions.
Sirer acknowledged that the cryptography threat cannot be entirely dismissed but believes the community should prioritize addressing software vulnerabilities that already exist.
XRP Ledger Emergency Update
The warning comes as the XRP Ledger faces scrutiny following an emergency software update on September 25. Developers released security fixes without initially publishing the source code but promised to provide it along with a technical retrospective. The update included batch fixes and stability improvements, and the team stated there was no impact to mainnet and no loss of funds.
