Bitcoin Crash Ahead? Buterin’s Wealth Faces Massive AI Threat

Vitalik Buterin has dismissed a prediction that artificial intelligence could cause Bitcoin to lose more than half its value within the next two years. The Ethereum co-founder said his current cryptocurrency holdings already mean that roughly 90% of his net worth is effectively positioned against that outcome.

Bitcoin is trading just below $80,000 after hitting a three-month peak of $82,500 on September 3. From a reference price of $80,000, a 50% drop would bring Bitcoin down to approximately $40,000.

Liron Shapira, a Silicon Valley investor and host of the Doom Debates podcast, said he puts the odds of Bitcoin falling by more than 50% over the next two years at 50%. He believes advances in AI could weaken the security and reliability assumptions investors currently place in the Bitcoin network.

Shapira’s main concern is that increasingly capable AI systems could eventually develop new methods of attacking the technology that safeguards Bitcoin. His argument centers on whether AI could undermine the security guarantees users associate with the network, rather than claiming that Bitcoin’s cryptography has already been compromised.

For the broader crypto market, the debate highlights the difference between potential weaknesses in Bitcoin’s technical infrastructure and the market reaction that could follow a perceived security threat. The possibility of AI-related attacks does not mean Bitcoin’s cryptographic systems have been broken, but it raises questions about how effectively the network could respond to emerging security risks.

Buterin said he takes the opposite view of Shapira’s prediction. He remains optimistic about cybersecurity over the long term and believes Bitcoin can address problems that do not require widespread social agreement.

He also separated network-level vulnerabilities from an actual failure of Bitcoin’s core cryptographic systems. Developers, node operators and mining pools could potentially upgrade their software or infrastructure to mitigate certain network attacks. Buterin argued that the likelihood of AI successfully breaking Bitcoin’s hashing algorithms or proof-of-work system is extremely small.

Buterin added that he would be willing to make a bet on his position, although his existing cryptocurrency holdings already represent a much larger financial commitment to that view. According to him, around 90% of his net worth is already exposed to the outcome. He also pointed out that similar concerns could extend to Ethereum because both networks depend on cryptographic security assumptions.

In another discussion, Buterin highlighted developments in succinct proofs and fully homomorphic encryption during 2026. The report also noted that Ethereum’s roadmap changes announced on August 10 placed greater emphasis on protecting the network against quantum-related threats.

Three Different AI-vs.-Bitcoin Arguments

Shapira is not the only prominent figure to connect AI developments with potential risks for Bitcoin. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has warned that AI-related credit problems could trigger a broader market sell-off and potentially drive Bitcoin below $60,000. Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff, meanwhile, has suggested that AI could compete with Bitcoin for investment money, electricity and data-center capacity.

These arguments focus on different types of potential pressure. Shapira is primarily concerned about Bitcoin’s security assumptions, while Hayes is focused on the possibility of a broader market downturn. Schiff’s argument instead centers on competition between AI and Bitcoin for capital and physical resources. None of these predictions confirms that an AI-driven disruption will actually occur.

What Bitcoin’s Current Price Action Shows

Bitcoin struggled to break through the $80,000-$82,200 resistance zone over the weekend, moving between roughly $79,750 and $80,100 during Saturday trading. The report also indicated that wallets holding at least 100 BTC accumulated around 60,000 BTC during August, while smaller holders sold a comparable amount.

The reported accumulation does not resolve the disagreement between Shapira and Buterin. Instead, it represents one market indicator within a broader debate over AI-related security threats and Bitcoin’s ability to adapt to potential technological challenges.

The dispute ultimately revolves around several key questions. Shapira’s forecast suggests that AI could weaken Bitcoin’s perceived security and contribute to a decline of more than 50% over two years. If Bitcoin remains near $80,000, such a decline would put its price around $40,000.

For now, the available information presents Shapira’s and Buterin’s positions as competing assessments of AI, cybersecurity and potential market pressure. It does not establish which prediction will ultimately be correct over the two-year period in question.

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