AI exposed a massive flaw in top crypto network and experts warn banks could be next
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A major bug found in the top privacy network Zcash, using artificial intelligence, may be a warning sign that similar undiscovered flaws exist across crypto and banking software.
Key facts
- What's worrying the crypto community is that the bug, which had existed in the network for 4 years, was only found recently by Shielded Labs, a nonprofit developer on the privacy token system, using
- Perhaps ZODL CEO Josh Swihart (former CEO of Electric Coin Company, a key developer of Zcash) put it aptly
- The disclosure had already caused panic among the crypto community and took the Zcash token down nearly 38% in the last 24 hours
- While Haseeb's firm continues to hold Zcash and is bullish on AI's role in crypto security, Ben Goertzel, the CEO of AI firm SingularityNET, told CoinDesk that similar vulnerabilities aren't limited
Summary
An AI model uncovered a four-year-old bug in Zcash that could have enabled the issuance of unlimited tokens, triggering a steep selloff in the cryptocurrency. The incident has intensified fears that increasingly powerful AI systems will expose similar hidden vulnerabilities across both crypto networks and traditional banking software. Leading investors and researchers argue that AI-assisted formal verification is the only viable long-term defense for mission-critical financial software. What's worrying the crypto community is that the bug, which had existed in the network for 4 years, was only found recently by Shielded Labs, a nonprofit developer on the privacy token system, using Anthropic's newly released Opus 4.8 AI model.