Avalanche Founder Warns of AI Risks in XRP Ledger
Sirer points out that AI can first find hidden bugs in software and wallets, while the XRP Ledger is already under a hotfix. That shifts the debate from ECDSA to the security of the code itself.
Key Takeaways
- Avalanche founder Emin Gün Sirer warns that AI can first find hidden bugs in software, libraries, and crypto wallets.
- According to Sirer, that could be more dangerous than the question of when cryptography like ECDSA becomes outdated.
- The warning comes while the XRP Ledger is already under pressure after a hotfix and questions about the published fixes.
Avalanche founder Emin Gün Sirer warns that AI can uncover hidden bugs in the XRP Ledger before existing cryptography is really put at risk. In his view, that risk deserves more attention than the question of when widely used cryptography like ECDSA becomes outdated. His warning comes at a time when the XRP Ledger is already back under scrutiny after a software hotfix.
AI Focuses on Code
Sirer said on X that AI will likely find bugs in software, libraries, and crypto wallets first, before ECDSA becomes obsolete. In his view, that shifts the focus from a future cryptography problem to the quality of today’s code.
He described AI-driven vulnerability discovery as using models to spot bugs that people missed. Attackers can exploit those flaws before developers roll out a patch. Sirer warned that in theory this could cause billions in damage if vulnerabilities stay hidden for too long.
XRP Ledger Is Already Under Pressure
The warning carries extra weight because developers rolled out a hotfix for the XRP Ledger on September 25. The first security fixes were published without source code, after which the team promised to release that code later along with a technical retrospective.
Sirer did not point to any unprotected vulnerability in the XRP Ledger, and he also did not show an AI attack on the network. So his message is a warning, not a reported exploit. Still, his comments fit into a broader debate in crypto about where the real risk lies: in future cryptography or in software bugs that already exist today. That lines up with the recent bug fix in the XRP Ledger, where Ripple patched an old bug that could theoretically have allowed new XRP to be created.
Why This Matters for Europe
For European crypto investors, this matters because security is increasingly about software, wallets, and infrastructure, not just the underlying cryptography. That fits a broader trend where projects and security teams are also using AI to find vulnerabilities faster. At the same time, the debate around the XRP Ledger shows that a hotfix and incomplete transparency about fixes can quickly raise extra questions from users and developers.
