DeFi isn't safe anymore because AI is becoming 'superhuman' at hacking, security chief warns
OpenZeppelin CEO Manuel Aráoz has declared that decentralized finance (DeFi) is now unsafe due to advancements in AI that can exploit vulnerabilities in smart contracts. This warning comes as DeFi's total value locked has decreased by over $20 billion this year, with more than $1.1 billion lost to hacks in the past 12 months. The rise of AI models capable of autonomously discovering and weaponizing software flaws raises significant concerns for the security of DeFi systems.
- ▪Manuel Aráoz considers all of DeFi unsafe due to AI coding agents becoming superhuman at finding vulnerabilities.
- ▪DeFi's total value locked has dropped by over $20 billion since the start of the year.
- ▪More than $1.1 billion has been lost to DeFi hacks over the past 365 days.
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| Original publisher | CoinDesk |
| Canonical URL | https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/05/27/openzeppelin-ceo-says-ai-makes-defi-unsafe-as-over-usd1-billion-hacked-from-defi-in-last-year |
| Publication time | Wed, 27 May 2026 08:51:27 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-27T09:07:56.948Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-27T09:07:56.948Z |
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TechShareShare this articleCopy linkX iconX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailDeFi isn't safe anymore because AI is becoming 'superhuman' at hacking, security chief warnsAs hacks pile up and DeFi TVL falls fast, one of crypto's top security executives says AI coding agents have made smart contracts fatally vulnerable.By Sam Reynolds|Edited by Jamie Crawley May 27, 2026, 8:51 a.m. 1 min readMake preferred on What to know: OpenZeppelin CEO Manuel Aráoz warned that he now considers all of DeFi unsafe, arguing that AI coding agents have become “superhuman” at finding vulnerabilities in smart contracts.His comments come amid a sharp decline of more than $20 billion in DeFi’s total value locked this year and over $1.1 billion lost to hacks in the past 12 months, including high-profile exploits at…
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