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AI-assisted hacking is outpacing traditional code reviews, NEAR co-founder says

NEAR co‑founder Ilya Polosukhin said AI‑assisted hacking is outpacing traditional code reviews and that formal verification—a mathematical method to prove code correctness—is needed to secure blockchain code.

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What happened

NEAR co‑founder Ilya Polosukhin said AI‑assisted hacking is outpacing traditional code reviews and that formal verification—a mathematical method to prove code correctness—is needed to secure blockchain code.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

If blockchain code cannot resist AI‑driven attacks, vulnerabilities could lead to loss of assets and erode confidence in decentralized finance platforms, affecting investor trust and project funding.

Analyst inference

The rise of AI tools for hacking is prompting the broader crypto industry to reconsider security practices, with many projects exploring formal verification to protect smart contracts and maintain market stability.

Analyst inference

What to watch

  1. Whether NEAR implements formal verification across its protocol, showing the co‑founder's call to action translates into concrete security upgrades. Proposed
  2. Reports of AI‑generated exploits targeting NEAR or similar blockchains, which would demonstrate the immediacy of the threat highlighted by the co‑founder. Proposed
  3. Regulatory guidance on blockchain security, especially any rules that might require formal verification for compliance, affecting development costs and timelines. Proposed

Affected assets

  • NEAR — NEAR Protocol
  • DEFI — DeFi

Evidence