TLDR
- AI is speeding up quantum computing development, raising concerns that today’s blockchain encryption could break sooner than expected.
- The “harvest now, decrypt later” strategy means attackers may already be storing encrypted data to crack in the future.
- Most blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, use elliptic curve cryptography that a powerful quantum computer could potentially break.
- AI is being used both offensively to find security flaws and defensively for code auditing and formal verification.
- Blockchains like NEAR, Ethereum, Solana, and others are already working on post-quantum migration strategies.
Researchers and security experts are warning that artificial intelligence is accelerating quantum computing development faster than many in the crypto industry expected. The combination of both technologies is forcing blockchain networks to rethink how they protect user funds and data.
The conversation around crypto security is starting to shift from “if” to “how fast.”
Researchers and blockchain developers are increasingly warning that AI could accelerate the arrival of quantum computing systems capable of challenging today’s encryption standards.
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— EllaWeb3 (@Ellaweb_3) May 25, 2026
For years, the question of whether quantum computers would ever threaten blockchain security felt distant. Now, some researchers say that timeline may be getting shorter.
The Core Threat to Crypto
Most blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, rely on elliptic curve cryptography to secure wallets and transactions. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could theoretically work backwards from a public key to derive a private key, allowing an attacker to drain funds from vulnerable wallets.
Alex Pruden, CEO of Project Eleven, a company focused on quantum-resistant infrastructure, says the situation is changing quickly. “Between quantum and AI, we’re going to go into a world where security, you simply cannot count on the way you’ve always done things,” he said.
The concern is no longer just theoretical. Security researchers are pointing to a strategy known as “harvest now, decrypt later.” This is where sophisticated actors collect encrypted data today and wait for quantum computers to become powerful enough to crack it later.
Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol and a former Google AI researcher, put it bluntly. “Everything we’re putting on the internet, if you’re identifiable as a person of interest, you can assume will be decrypted in two years,” he said. “It’s most likely happening already.”
AI on Both Sides of the Fight
AI is not just accelerating the quantum threat. It is also being used to attack and defend crypto systems right now.
On the offensive side, AI models are getting better at finding software vulnerabilities. Pruden said he expects AI to accelerate the number of hacks in the industry, as models become capable of spotting flaws in cryptographic code and potentially breaking weaker implementations outright.
On the defensive side, developers are using AI for code auditing, formal verification, and testing post-quantum systems. These techniques can help catch security flaws before attackers do.
Polosukhin, who worked on AI research at Google as early as 2016, says the pace of AI-driven discovery is only increasing. “The rate of research is going to accelerate from here, and we have already seen progress that people didn’t expect would come this early,” he said.
He also pointed to a potential feedback loop: AI helping to design better quantum computers, which in turn could help build even more powerful AI systems.
What Blockchain Networks Are Doing About It
Several blockchain projects are already working on solutions. NEAR recently announced plans to integrate post-quantum cryptography directly into its account structure. This would allow users to update their cryptographic setup without needing to move their assets to a new wallet.
Polosukhin said this was planned from the start. “Back in 2018, when we were designing NEAR, we were like: hey, quantum will come, we should have an easy way to do it,” he said.
Ethereum, Zcash, Solana, and Ripple are also researching or implementing post-quantum strategies of their own.
The transition is not simple. Current post-quantum cryptographic standards tend to be larger in file size and slower to process. “The cryptography that’s currently standardized for post-quantum is very big and slow,” Polosukhin said.
Pruden summed up the broader shift: security can no longer be treated as something that gets updated once a decade. It now needs to be an ongoing, continuously evolving process.
“Nothing is going to be as static as it’s been in the future,” he said.
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