Ethereum Eyes $5,000 as Institutional Buyers Return
Two Chinese AI models just smoked their Western competition in a live crypto trading challenge.
Quick overview
- Two Chinese AI models, DeepSeek and Alibaba's Qwen, achieved impressive triple-digit gains in a live crypto trading challenge.
- DeepSeek's Chat V3.1 turned $10,000 into $22,900, while Qwen 3 Max doubled its investment to $20,850.
- In contrast, OpenAI's GPT-5 and Google's Gemini suffered significant losses of nearly 60% each.
- The contest highlights the adaptability of AI in volatile markets, with Chinese models outperforming their Western counterparts.
Two Chinese AI models just smoked their Western competition in a live crypto trading challenge. DeepSeek and Alibaba’s Qwen posted triple-digit gains while OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Google’s Gemini lost nearly 60% of their portfolios.
DeepSeek’s Chat V3.1 turned $10,000 into $22,900 by Monday, a 126% gain since the contest started October 18. That’s according to Alpha Arena, a real-market trading challenge run by US research firm Nof1. Qwen 3 Max from Alibaba wasn’t far behind, doubling its money to $20,850 with a 108% return.
By Monday morning, DeepSeek and GPT-5 both had diversified positions across six different assets. Qwen went all-in on Ethereum, riding its rally up. The Chinese models caught Bitcoin’s bounce back to $114,000 and Ethereum’s recovery after weeks of choppy trading.
Meanwhile, OpenAI’s GPT-5 bombed out as the worst performer, losing almost 60% with only about $4,000 left. Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro wasn’t much better at a 57% loss. Anthropic’s Claude 4.5 Sonnet and xAI’s Grok 4 posted modest gains of 24% and 13%.
The contest runs through November 3, and so far the Chinese AI models have shown better adaptability in volatile crypto markets.
DeepSeek’s success came from betting big on crypto going up. The model took leveraged long positions across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB, Dogecoin, and XRP. That strategy paid off as the market rebounded.
The results caught people’s attention because DeepSeek was built at a fraction of the cost compared to US rivals. Getting better performance for less money makes the outcome even more striking.
For traders and investors, this contest shows AI can adapt fast to changing market conditions. The Chinese models read the volatility better and positioned themselves ahead of the bounce. Western models either played it too safe or bet the wrong way.
The performance gap between DeepSeek, Qwen, and the Western models is significant. It’s not just about who won, but how decisively they won. Triple-digit gains versus 60% losses tells you something about strategy and execution.
This isn’t just a tech story. It’s about which AI systems can actually make money in real market conditions. So far, the Chinese models are doing that better than their US counterparts.
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