Analysts from the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) stated that advanced artificial intelligence systems could significantly alter both security research and the execution of cyberattacks.
In an open letter to researchers, engineers, and company leaders developing advanced AI systems, the organization noted that modern models are already capable of analyzing large codebases, identifying potential vulnerabilities, and performing complex technical tasks.
According to the authors of the letter, these capabilities may become available to malicious actors before they are accessible to open-source defenders. This creates a risk for digital asset infrastructure, which secures the storage and transfer of trillions of dollars.
Particularly vulnerable could be wallets, signing devices, cryptographic libraries, node software, asset custody systems, exchanges, and payment networks.
The Institute emphasized that digital assets differ from many traditional financial systems. In the event of a hack, an attacker can much more rapidly convert the obtained access into financial losses.
Bitcoin Core Developers Lack Access to the Most Powerful Models
The letter points out that leading AI labs and their partners may gain access to new cybersecurity capabilities months before they become available to the broader ecosystem.
At the same time, some open-source developers, specifically Bitcoin Core, do not have access to the specialized cybersecurity programs of such labs.
The authors of the letter called on advanced AI labs to create or expand permanent trusted access programs for qualified developers and researchers who defend open-source financial infrastructure.
Among the proposals:
- early, supervised access to the most powerful models with cyber capabilities;
- sufficient computational resources for prolonged security audits;
- secure environments for analyzing private or non-disclosable code;
- access for small teams, non-profit organizations, and independent developers;
- a direct channel for vulnerability disclosure and coordinated remediation.
The Institute believes that early access to advanced models and sufficient computational resources will help developers find and fix vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them.
The letter's authors also called on the crypto industry to help AI labs identify reliable participants for such programs and coordinate responses to identified issues.
Recall that earlier, the Bitcoin Policy Institute urged central banks to use bitcoin to hedge against inflation.
