Buterin Fires Back at AI Doom Crowd: 90% of My Bags Are in Crypto, Read the Room 🤖

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin rejected the notion that AI-powered hacking signals the end of cybersecurity and crypto, arguing instead that the same technology will tilt the balance toward defenders. Responding to the claim that "AI hacking means cybersecurity is doomed," Buterin said on social media that cybersecurity is "naturally defense-favoring once people get their shit together."

Buterin pointed to his own holdings to underscore his conviction, noting that almost 90% of his net worth remains in crypto. He framed that position as an implicit bet on a coming boom in blockchain cybersecurity. "If AI can prove Navier-Stokes and FLT, then AI can prove the statement 'this program is secure' as a mathematical theorem. Even if the program is very complicated," Buterin wrote, referencing two long-standing mathematical problems, the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem and Fermat's Last Theorem.

According to Buterin, AI-assisted formal verification would let developers prove software secure as a theorem rather than chase bugs after deployment. He described a future in which automated systems find flaws before attackers do, narrowing the window for exploits across complex codebases.

Buterin attached a caveat, stating that the defensive advantage only materializes if developers and security teams overhaul how they build software. He has previously outlined conditions including open-source development, defensive tooling that targets consensus-layer bugs, and broader use of formal verification and proof systems.

The remarks position $ETH's co-founder against a growing chorus of researchers who warn that generative AI lowers the barrier to sophisticated exploits. Buterin's response frames the contest as one of preparation, arguing that whoever integrates AI-driven auditing first will set the pace for the rest of the industry.