Bitcoin extended its slide, dipping to about $82,300 before recovering to around $82,800, roughly 4% below Tuesday's high near $86,600. This comes as Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake urged the industry to prepare for "bunker mode," suggesting a gradual migration of funds to new addresses with unexposed public keys. Drake believes AI-driven mathematical advances could break elliptic-curve signatures securing bitcoin and ether wallets in "months not years," citing 722 mathematical results released by OpenAI this week.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin acknowledged the AI risk but advised against scrambling to move funds, while Jan3 CEO Samson Mow dismissed Drake's concerns as "silly things." Meanwhile, bond markets continue to exert pressure, with the 30-year Treasury yield climbing 4 basis points to 5.71% and the 10-year to 5.32%. Minutes from the Fed's September meeting, released Wednesday, showed all 19 officials backed last month's interest-rate increase, with most seeing another as likely appropriate by year-end.