As the industry also prepares for the eventual arrival of quantum computing, Coates says Solana is evaluating post-quantum cryptography while advocating for security systems that protect users by default, arguing crypto must "meet users where they are" instead of expecting them to act as security experts. Over the last few months, crypto ecosystems have had major security incidents that were not caused by smart contract vulnerabilities, but rather because of more advanced compromises, like fake identities and AI-generated scams. Those types of vulnerabilities will drive the next wave of blockchain security concerns, according to the chief information security officer (CISO) at the Solana Foundation, Michael Coates. "You have to do everything that a Web2 company has to do for security, and the incremental uniqueness to Web3," Coates said in an interview with CoinDesk.…

"In many cases, it is an operational security issue or a Web2 issue that led to a key compromise," he said. This will only prove to be more difficult as artificial intelligence advances gives attackers better tools to exploit security practices. "The social engineering piece is going to get a lot worse because of the power of AI and deepfakes," Coates said. "We should expect full spoofed phone calls with voices of people that we know... there's really no reason this won't hyperscale. To prevent that, Coates thinks crypto needs to come up with better systems that remain secure and work when people fall for these scams.