Dragonfly Partner Rejects ‘Bunker Mode’ as AI Threatens Crypto Signatures

A Dragonfly Capital managing partner has criticized a plan to simply migrate crypto assets as insufficient protection against the threat of artificial intelligence breaking cryptographic signatures.

Haseeb Qureshi labeled Ethereum researcher Justin Drake’s “bunker mode” warning—advising users to move funds to fresh wallets—as “cryptographic doomerism.” In an October 9 post, Qureshi argued that coins in new addresses would be “worthless if all of the other coins are being hacked and mass-sold.” He instead called for proactive blockchain measures.

Qureshi proposed a “Cryptographic Recovery Mode,” a hash-based backup signature plan that would allow validators to force recovery if signatures were broken by AI or quantum computers. The debate follows Drake’s warning that AI advancements could break the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) securing wallets in “months, not years.”

Data from Glassnode suggests the threat is substantial, with over 31% of the Bitcoin supply—6.26 million BTC—currently sitting in addresses vulnerable if signatures are broken. Of that total, nearly 1.8 million BTC are held on cryptocurrency exchanges.