Artificial intelligence poses a more immediate threat to Bitcoin's security than quantum computing, according to Cory Klippsten, founder and chief executive of Swan Bitcoin, a Bitcoin-focused financial services company, who warned that hackers are increasingly using large language models to identify and exploit software vulnerabilities.

Speaking in a podcast appearance, Klippsten said AI-assisted attacks are emerging as a more pressing concern for cryptocurrency companies than the prospect of quantum computers eventually breaking the cryptography underpinning digital assets.

"The near-term threat is actually AI," Klippsten said, citing hackers' growing use of large language models to probe for security weaknesses.

His comments come amid a series of cryptocurrency security breaches. They include a reported $6.3 billion theft from Binance on October 29, 2026, which the FBI attributed to North Korean hackers and which has been described as the largest crypto exploit in history, as well as a hack at Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest cryptocurrency exchange, that prompted the platform to suspend deposits and withdrawals.

The warnings align with recent industry research and analysis. A Binance Research report has found that AI is twice as effective at exploitation as it is at detection in crypto, while a leading Ethereum Foundation researcher has said a potential AI threat to wallet security could emerge "within months." A published case study on the ColdCard Bitcoin exploit has likewise argued that it demonstrates the destabilizing impact of "the new AI paradigm." For exchanges and custody providers, that imbalance between offensive and defensive AI capability is the practical crux of the near-term risk Klippsten describes.

On quantum computing, Klippsten said machines capable of compromising Bitcoin's cryptography are likely at least a decade away, giving developers time to introduce protections against the technology. He cautioned against rushing quantum-resistant upgrades, arguing that poorly implemented security changes could introduce additional vulnerabilities into cryptocurrency networks.

The debate over quantum computing risks has intensified as researchers report advances in developing algorithms that could reduce the computing resources required to compromise existing cryptographic systems. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could potentially derive private keys from exposed public keys, allowing attackers to spend Bitcoin held in vulnerable addresses. In Bitcoin's design, a public key is typically concealed by its address until the associated coins are spent, which is why outputs whose keys are already visible on-chain are widely regarded as the most exposed to such attacks.

Klippsten also questioned whether some cryptocurrency companies were exaggerating the urgency of quantum threats to attract investment, describing much of the surrounding discussion as fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

His warning highlights the growing challenge facing cryptocurrency companies as AI tools lower the technical barriers to identifying software weaknesses, even as the industry continues to prepare for longer-term threats to blockchain cryptography. Taken together, his remarks frame a two-track security agenda for the industry: hardening systems against AI-assisted attackers operating today, while advancing quantum-resistant cryptography at a pace careful enough to avoid introducing the new weaknesses he cautioned against.

Source: BitcoinKE — EXPERT OPINION | Hackers Increasingly Using AI to Attack Crypto Companies, Says CEO, Swan Bitcoin