OpenZeppelin’s CEO says AI coding agents have put the decentralized finance (DeFi) space in danger.
“PSA: I now consider *all* of DeFi unsafe,” Manuel Araoz, who heads the crypto security firm, wrote in a post on social media platform X Wednesday (May 27). “Coding agents are superhuman at finding vulnerabilities, and smart contract security is too asymmetric: defenders need to fix every bug while attackers need just one exploit to steal funds.”
His comments were flagged in a report by CoinDesk, which notes they came in the wake of Anthropic’s warnings that its Claude Mythos AI model can autonomously uncover software vulnerabilities and create working exploits at a level the company says outdoes existing automated tools.
The report also cites DeFiLlama data showing that DeFi’s total value locked has fallen by more $20 billion since the year began.
Although this is partially due to a broader weakness in crypto prices, the report added, the digital asset space has also been hit by a number of exploits. CoinDesk, again citing data from DeFiLlama, added that more than $1.1 billion has been lost to DeFi hacks since this time last year, including April’s $293 million Kelp DAO exploit.
As covered here last month, that hack “set off a chain reaction that erased nearly $9 billion from the largest DeFi lending platform,” presenting “a reputational, even existential, crisis for DeFi.”
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While earlier attacks targeted private keys or flawed smart contracts, this one was aimed at the connective tissue of blockchain ecosystems: the messaging layer that allows for interoperability across chains.
“Past hacks were due to stolen keys or bugs in smart contracts, this one was convincing the vault the thief was actually the owner,” Ryan Rugg, global head of digital assets for Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.
At the center of the issues being raised by the DeFi exploit, that report said, are the inescapable tensions between crypto’s drive for open, interoperable systems and the institutional demand for security and control that has long defined, and in some places hindered, blockchain’s evolution.
“Does this delay the institutional adoption of DeFi? Maybe,” said Rugg, interviewed for an episode of PYMNTS’ “From the Block” podcast. “It is going to take some of the confidence out of the market.”
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