Zcash (ZEC) Co-Founder Issues Warning on AI Security Threat

Zcash co-founder and computer scientist Eli Ben-Sasson has issued a crucial warning about crypto security amid recent hacker attacks on crypto wallets.

In his latest post on X, Ben-Sasson wrote that the crypto industry faces a key threat besides quantum computers. In particular, he pointed to the growing capabilities of AI as a tool for cybersecurity attacks.

The reason is that today, more than ever before, we rely on cryptography.

"Your crypto keys, your online life, any app that holds something important to you — it's all secured by cryptography," he wrote.

According to Ben-Sasson, the growing power of AI tools puts more pressure on wallet cryptography. This threat is more likely to become an issue before quantum computers pose a significant threat.

"This quick rise in cybersecurity attacks is not going to slow down, not with AI becoming so powerful," Ben-Sasson wrote.

The Zcash co-founder also pointed out the need for stronger cryptographic standards. He specifically highlighted hash-based methods such as ZK-STARKs.

The discussion comes weeks after the infamous Binance hack. The incident resulted in around $6.3 billion in losses from the exchange's hot wallets.

Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals while investigating the breach. The exchange has since reported recovering around 95% of the affected assets.

AI Crypto Hacks on the Rise

AI hacker attacks have been on the rise in 2026. According to Google Threat Intelligence statistics, the monthly number of disclosed software vulnerabilities has nearly doubled over the past year.

This means that AI has already become a powerful scanner for potential system weaknesses.

For instance, Casa CSO Jameson Lopp pointed out that attackers can already use AI to automate the search for conventional software bugs and weaknesses in wallet firmware.

In other words, the discussion should be focused on more specific security vulnerabilities in existing software rather than a hypothetical future AI threat.