Security experts warn: AI is accelerating the threat of quantum computing, and the encryption industry faces a continuous security arms race

According to CoinDesk, several researchers in the fields of post-quantum cryptography and blockchain security have stated that AI is accelerating the development of quantum computing and forcing the encryption industry to reassess the reliability of existing security systems.

Project Eleven CEO Alex Pruden pointed out that researchers are using machine learning to optimize quantum error correction—one of the biggest engineering bottlenecks in the field of quantum computing. NEAR Protocol co-founder and former Google AI researcher Illia Polosukhin warned that the "harvest now, decrypt later" strategy has become a real threat, where attackers collect encrypted traffic now and decrypt it later when quantum computers mature, "this is likely already happening."

Since most blockchain networks rely on the same elliptic curve cryptography as the internet, once quantum computers become powerful enough, they could theoretically derive private keys from public keys, thereby compromising wallets and systems. Researchers noted that the combination of AI and quantum computing is creating a continuous arms race in security, where security measures will no longer be static infrastructure but must continuously evolve and upgrade. Currently, multiple blockchain ecosystems such as Ethereum, Solana, and NEAR are actively promoting post-quantum cryptography migration solutions.