04-28-2026Price:

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AI & TECH

Anthropic hides AI capable of crashing grids

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 · from 3 podcasts
3 SOURCESBanklessBreaking PointsThe Economist
  • Anthropic’s Mythos model found 27-year-old bugs, prompting lockdown to prevent systemic hacking.
  • A Discord leak exposed the tool to hackers, undermining claims of controlled access.
  • Canada compares the threat to a Strait of Hormuz blockade.

Anthropic’s most advanced AI, Claude Mythos, was never meant to see the light of day. Designed not as a chatbot but as a cyber-ninja, it recently uncovered a flaw in OpenBSD that had gone undetected since 1997. According to Alex Hearn on The Intelligence, this isn’t just another AI upgrade - it marks a threshold. Mythos operates at a level where finding zero-days isn’t the exception; it’s the baseline.

The lab responded by restricting access to just 11 entities: Apple, JP Morgan, Microsoft, and the UK government among them. Dario Amodei framed this as a safety measure, but Hearn notes the move also shields Anthropic from compute shortages and denies rivals - especially Chinese firms - the chance to reverse-engineer its breakthroughs. This isn’t open science; it’s a closed-door arms race.

Then the containment failed. As reported on Breaking Points, a hacker collective on Discord gained unauthorized access to the model. The leak upends the premise that keeping powerful AI private ensures safety. The Bank of England issued a quiet alert: Mythos could automate attacks on core financial infrastructure. Canada’s finance minister went further, calling the breach equivalent to a physical blockade of the Strait of Hormuz - a systemic choke point.

"We are betting the stability of the global financial system on the server security of a single company."

- Krystal Ball, Breaking Points

The political fallout is already underway. While Indian politicians hand out $27 monthly cash transfers to win votes, and Senegal’s president imposes austerity to avoid default, the AI world has moved into a new phase. The tools that can break systems now exist - and they’re not in government labs. They’re on Discord servers, accessible to anyone who knows where to look.

Regulation hasn’t caught up. Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are exposed as fragile - one bettor used a hair dryer to manipulate a weather sensor and cash in. If a $20 appliance can beat a global market, what happens when a real AI targets a power grid? The 'wisdom of the crowd' looks increasingly like a slogan for chaos.

The Fed’s next chair, Kevin Warsh, argues AI will drive a productivity boom that justifies rate cuts. But if AI can also collapse critical infrastructure, then growth isn’t guaranteed - it’s contingent on containment holding. That bet rests on a single assumption: that the next leak won’t be worse than the last.

AI & TechRegulationAgents
Dario AmodeiAnthropicKalshiPolymarketWorldcoinCanadaClaudeFederal ReserveStrait of Hormuz

Source Intelligence

- Deep dive into what was said in the episodes

Bankless
Bankless

ROLLUP: $300M DeFi Hack Fallout | Arbitrum Freezes Funds | AI Deflation Debate | Productive ETH • Apr 24

  • Kevin Warsh, a probable incoming Fed chair with an 82% chance of confirmation by June, predicts AI will cause a structural decline in prices and a productivity boom, contrasting with the Fed's 1978 models.
  • Morgan Stanley indicates AI adoption is likely initiating a new productivity boom, aligning with historical patterns seen during personal computer (1980-1995) and internet (1995-2010) eras.
  • A $280-$300 million exploit of KelpDAO's LayerZero bridge implementation, attributed to Lazarus Group, caused $200 million in bad debt for Aave, marking the first large economic exploit involving the protocol.
  • Arbitrum's Security Council, a 9-of-12 multi-sig, froze and recovered $70 million of the stolen ETH from the KelpDAO exploit, an unprecedented asset seizure on a Layer 2, done in communication with law enforcement.
  • David attributes blame for the KelpDAO exploit to LayerZero's infiltration, KelpDAO for using a vulnerable one-of-one validator setup, and Aave for inadequate risk parameters, advocating for DeFi redesign using 'aeronautics industry' principles where individual failures don't collapse the system.
  • Ryan notes KelpDAO must decide how to distribute the $200 million loss: a 15% haircut for all rSETH holders (mainnet and L2s) or a 70-75% loss exclusively for L2 rSETH holders.
  • Polymarket and Kalshi are launching perpetual futures platforms, expanding into a vertical separate from prediction markets; Kalshi's platform will be regulated in the United States.
  • Tether froze $344 million in USDT on Tron in coordination with OFAC and U.S. law enforcement, marking the largest stablecoin freeze ever; David speculates the funds belong to Iran’s IRGC.
  • Ryan is concerned about potential U.S. government legislation for device-level KYC, which would require government ID and a photo via third parties like Persona for setting up operating systems on internet-connected devices, creating massive honeypots and surveillance risks.
Also from this episode: (7)

Markets (2)

  • The S&P 500 reached all-time highs for the second consecutive week, while oil prices increased by 10% on the week, with Brent crude hitting $100 per barrel and WTI at $95 per barrel.
  • A Paris temperature prediction market on Polymarket, with daily volumes of $180,000-$190,000, was exploited by brief, anomalous 7-degree temperature spikes at Charles de Gaulle airport's sensor on April 6th and 15th, triggering payouts.

ETFs (1)

  • Eric Balchunas reports all Bitcoin ETF rolling periods are positive for the first time in months; MicroStrategy now holds more Bitcoin than BlackRock’s IBIT ETF.

War (1)

  • David notes the U.S. has indefinitely paused kinetic war in Iran, extending a ceasefire until Tehran submits a proposal; the naval blockade of Iranian ports continues, restricting oil flows by over 95%.

Models (2)

  • A UK study finds no significant impact of AI on overall employment three years post-ChatGPT; occupations with higher AI exposure have actually grown faster than lesser-exposed ones.
  • Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO, predicts 50% of entry-level tech, legal, consulting, and finance jobs will be eliminated in 1-5 years due to AI, a view strongly opposed by AI leader Yann LeCun.

Macro (1)

  • The Kobayashi Letter reports U.S. wealth inequality has widened significantly, with the top 0.0001% of households experiencing a 3,500% real wealth gap growth since 1976.
FedBankingMacroAI Infrastructure
Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar
Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

4/23/26: Global Alarms Over New AI, Kalshi Insider Trading, Tucker Apologizes For Trump Support • Apr 23

  • Krystal argues that powerful AI models, unlike medical drugs, lack federal scrutiny, contrasting the rigorous approval process for pharmaceuticals with the hands-off approach to AI development.
  • Krystal advocates for a presidential advisory body to establish transparent review standards for powerful AI models, arguing against developers solely determining their safety for global impact.
  • Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wilds to discuss AI, including Mythos, even though the Trump administration blacklisted Anthropic's Claude AI model.
  • Saagar describes how a person used a hairdryer to manipulate a Paris airport weather sensor on Polymarket, winning $34,000 by artificially raising the temperature to 22 degrees Celsius twice.
  • Krystal challenges the "societal utilitarian benefit" of prediction markets like Kalshi, asserting they primarily enable speculative betting without offering broader public utility.
  • Krystal criticizes the Trump administration's removal of the $25,000 cash limit for day traders, citing empirical data that most retail traders are financially "wiped out" within two to three months.
  • Krystal notes the $25,000 day trading limit was implemented after the 1990s dot-com crash, when numerous retail investors lost savings, underscoring the purpose of consumer protection rules.
  • Krystal contends that the "democratization of finance" offered by platforms like Robinhood and Kalshi primarily enriches the companies through transaction fees, while most individual consumers lose money.
  • Saagar asserts that human psychological vulnerabilities, particularly the "get rich quick" desire, are easily exploited by addictive platforms, underscoring the need for consumer protection.
  • Mark Moran claimed he intentionally bet $100 on himself on Kalshi to expose corruption and insider trading on prediction markets, citing potential manipulation on Polymarket's New York City mayoral race.
  • Krystal asserts Kalshi's slow detection of Mark Moran's insider trading shows enforcement challenges, particularly in monitoring related parties like consultants or family members.
  • Jacob Wasserman clarifies TMZ pays for photos and videos, akin to other news outlets using Getty images, but emphasizes they do not pay for information, relying on reporting and FOIA requests.
Also from this episode: (10)

Models (5)

  • Saagar explains Anthropic's Mythos AI model can identify and exploit vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure like banks and power grids, raising concerns about its potential for misuse.
  • Anthropic decided not to widely release its powerful Mythos model, sharing it only with eleven US organizations and Britain, triggering global alarm over potential security risks.
  • The Bank of England governor warned Mythos could "crack the whole cyber risk world open," while Canada's finance minister compared its threat to closing the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Saagar notes Bloomberg reported Mythos was accessed by an unauthorized Discord hacker collective, highlighting concerns about the model's security despite Anthropic's precautions.
  • Krystal emphasizes that AI's ability to perfectly spoof voices will escalate existing spam call and text issues, making individuals, especially public figures, vulnerable to sophisticated financial scams.

Safety (2)

  • Krystal rejects the idea that AI companies exaggerate dangers for marketing, pointing to global alarms from banks and intelligence agencies as proof of genuine concern.
  • Saagar recognizes Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's credibility for prioritizing AI safety, noting his refusal of Pentagon demands and the company's research into model vulnerabilities.

Society (1)

  • Krystal observes that societal impacts of technology, like the iPhone's widespread adoption taking four years until 2011, suggest AI's full effects will also unfold over time.

Digital Sovereignty (1)

  • Krystal, having owned an iPhone 4 sixteen years ago, voices skepticism about technology's promises of improvement, stating she is not "better off" with a smartphone.

Banking (1)

  • Saagar warns a major cyber incident impacting digitally-reliant banking systems could destabilize the global financial system and erode public trust in monetary security.
SafetyAI InfrastructureRegulationMarkets
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Intelligence from The Economist

White hat, black box: AI’s next chapter • Apr 22

  • Alex Hearn notes the dual-use nature of AI systems, becoming capable hackers, which makes Anthropic's voluntary behind-closed-doors approach a potential model for government regulation in the sector.
  • Bassiru Jumaie Fayet became Senegal's president in 2024, facing public debt at 130% of GDP, forcing him to raise taxes, cut agencies, and pause infrastructure to avoid default.
Also from this episode: (9)

Models (2)

  • Alex Hearn reports Anthropic's new Mythos AI, a "superhuman hacker," is too dangerous for general release, leading the company to provide preview access to 11 named groups and 40 smaller organizations.
  • Alex Hearn highlights Mythos's capabilities, citing its discovery of a complex bug in OpenBSD that had remained hidden for 27 years, demonstrating its advanced software engineering and hacking prowess.

Safety (1)

  • Anthropic's decision to restrict Mythos access is partly to present itself as safety-oriented, manage a compute crunch, and prevent other labs from using its intellectual property to develop "fast followers."

Elections (3)

  • Kira Huyu reports a significant shift in Indian elections, with women becoming a central electoral force whose turnout surpassed male turnout for the first time in 2019 and again in 2024.
  • Research by Sanjay Kumar and colleagues indicates Indian women vote pragmatically, driven by tangible welfare policies rather than ideology or culture war issues, which contrasts with male voting patterns.
  • Kira Huyu explains that at least 16 of India's 28 states have female-only direct cash transfer schemes, often introduced before elections, providing $9 to $27 monthly to women half as likely to hold jobs.

Politics (1)

  • India's states spent over $18 billion on unconditional cash transfers last financial year; West Bengal’s flagship Lakshmi Bandha scheme consumes 10% of its revenue, raising concerns about crowding out education and healthcare investment.

Sports (2)

  • John Fasman notes Senegal is making its third consecutive and fourth overall World Cup appearance, reaching the quarterfinals in 2002 as one of only four African countries to achieve this.
  • Senegal won its second Africa Cup of Nations title by beating Morocco 1-0 in January, but the win was forfeited after players briefly left the pitch in protest of a penalty.
SafetyMacroEnterpriseStartups

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