SimpleSwap Crypto Portfolio Challenge pits AI strategies against human traders in a controlled contest

The SimpleSwap Crypto Portfolio Challenge is setting up a head-to-head contest between AI-driven strategies and human traders to see how each performs in real-market conditions. The goal isn’t to crown a winner, but to compare how algorithms and people handle risk, adapt to change, and manage portfolios—all while keeping assets and data under the users’ control.

What the challenge tests and how it works

The competition puts automated systems against human intuition. AI models use machine learning to spot patterns and execute trades, while humans rely on experience and judgment. By testing both in live and simulated settings, the challenge evaluates forecasting skill, resilience under pressure, and cost efficiency—without assuming one approach is inherently better.

Fair rules, transparency and risk metrics

For a fair fight, everyone follows the same rules: equal starting capital, identical transaction costs, and safeguards against overfitting. Transparency is key—participants should share performance numbers and, where possible, model details for outside review. Risk isn’t just about returns; metrics like drawdowns, volatility, and the Sharpe ratio matter too. Most importantly, everyone keeps control of their keys and assets.

Community guidelines and implications

The challenge encourages open models and reproducible results. Hidden strategies or information advantages distort outcomes and reduce the value of the experiment. Sharing code and methods helps spread knowledge, strengthens decentralization, and reduces reliance on black-box providers. Participants should:

• Know the sponsors, rules, and judging criteria.

• Retain custody—don’t hand over keys or funds.

• Enable third-party verification of results.

• Promote open and usable model information.