Topic
Public-key cryptography based on the difficulty of the discrete logarithm problem over elliptic curves, used for signatures and key exchange across the internet and in blockchain systems.
Anthropic researchers say Claude traced the NIST P-256 curve seed to a random number generator started on Aug. 16, 1997, at 01:52:34 UTC. That narrows the backdoor case, though the seed was candidate 1,842 in that run, so someone kept one output out of many.
Reality
Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake says AI could break ECDSA in "months not years" and wants large holders on fresh addresses now. Custodians would bear most of the cost, and his evidence is a single AI math result.
Perspective Coverage
15 publishersReality
The zero-knowledge proof in the March 2026 white paper turned out to certify false statements too, and Scientific American reports the algorithm Google was protecting stayed secret for only a few days.
Reality
The algorithm-level numbers are the part of the estimate that can be recompiled onto any fault-tolerant machine, and the headline 25.7 days on 19,397 physical qubits belongs to the trapped-ion architecture its own authors proposed.
Reality
IonQ's September 8 paper puts one secp256k1 key at just under 26 days on 20,000 physical qubits. The company's roadmap reaches 10,000 fault-tolerant qubits in 2027 and names no year for the larger machine.
Reality