Ethereum researcher Justin Drake is urging major crypto holders to prepare for a possible failure of ECDSA, warning that the risk could emerge within months.
In an Oct. 7 post on X, Drake advised large holders to move funds to fresh addresses where public keys have not been exposed. He urged the industry to prepare calmly for what he called “bunker mode” rather than wait until the threat becomes urgent.
Drake also warned against rushing into large-scale migrations. Moving funds too early could create new security risks without offering much immediate protection, he said.
Drake Urges Fresh Wallet Addresses
Drake recommends moving funds to addresses that have never signed a transaction. Once an address is used, he says its remaining funds should be moved again.
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This approach keeps the wallet’s public key hidden until the funds are spent. That could make it harder for an attacker to target the cryptography if ECDSA were compromised.
A successful ECDSA break could allow an attacker to recover a wallet’s private key using sufficient computing power. Drake said his worst-case scenario could arrive within months, although he did not say a break is imminent.
Hash-Based Security Gains Attention
Drake also urged exchanges and custodians to reassess protections for cold-storage funds. He pointed to oracles and Layer 2 security councils as other areas requiring stronger safeguards.
For longer-term protection, Drake favors hash-based cryptography, citing the SHA and BLAKE families as possible building blocks.
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