A new report from cryptocurrency exchange MEXC reveals that 84.8% of surveyed crypto traders have used artificial intelligence for research or trading in the past six months. The findings, based on a survey of 3,708 users, highlight a growing reliance on AI tools, though adoption and comfort levels vary significantly across age groups and use cases.
The report, released in collaboration with blockchain security firm Hacken, examines how traders employ AI, how much trading authority they are willing to delegate, and what protective measures they expect from platforms. Notably, 53.1% of respondents said they use AI at least weekly, indicating that AI has become a routine part of many traders' workflows.
Age and Experience Gaps
Adoption is notably higher among younger traders. The survey found that 88.5% of respondents aged 18–34 had used AI, compared with 69.9% of those aged 45 and older. Among those who have not used AI, the primary barrier was difficulty getting started or high entry barriers (cited by 46.7%), rather than mistrust of AI (32.7%).
AI's Role: Research Over Execution
AI's most significant contribution appears to be in pre-trade preparation. Summarizing news was the most frequent task for 54.3% of AI users, followed by market analysis (48.6%) and finding trading opportunities (38%). Only 7.6% selected direct execution as one of their most-used tasks. When asked about their most recent AI-assisted trade, 68.9% said AI contributed most before execution, compared with 22.7% during trading.
Users also reported more positive outcomes in research than in execution. While 58.3% said AI improved their market research, only 46% reported better trade execution. Additionally, 30.9% saw no change in execution, and 23.1% said it had worsened. These assessments are based on respondents' self-reported experiences rather than independently measured performance.
Willingness to Automate and Risk Limits
Despite mixed execution results, AI advice influences trading behavior. Among AI users, 65.9% said they placed orders or adjusted positions based on AI recommendations at least sometimes. However, only 20% have tried execution without approving each trade.
Risk limits play a crucial role in automation comfort. In a baseline scenario offering notifications, pausing, and permission revocation, 55% of respondents were willing to let AI trade automatically. When limits on funds, assets, positions, leverage, and losses were added—with automatic stopping at the loss threshold—willingness jumped to 71.8%, an increase of 16.8 percentage points.
Still, traders are cautious about the amount of capital they would entrust to AI. In a separate scenario prohibiting transfers and withdrawals, 54% would authorize no more than 20% of their account assets, and only 6.5% would authorize more than half.
Security and Oversight
Hacken's technical analysis warns that withdrawal restrictions alone cannot prevent losses. An AI agent with trading access could be manipulated into buying an asset at an inflated price or taking on excessive exposure. The report outlines protective measures set independently of the agent, including limits on orders, total positions, and permissions, alongside security testing to block unwanted actions before execution.
On oversight, 46.2% of respondents preferred exchanges to offer safety settings that users could choose to enable, about 1.8 times the share who preferred uniform minimum requirements set by the platform (25.7%). However, support for user choice did not mean rejecting industry standards: among those who preferred optional settings and answered the separate standards question, 97.8% backed at least one mandatory measure.
Across all 3,464 valid responses to the standards question, a risk assessment or knowledge test before first use received the most support at 55.3%. Independent audits and limits on capital and loss that cannot be disabled followed at 38.8% each.
“As AI becomes more integrated into trading, our findings show that users don’t want less control. They want clearer boundaries,” said Vugar Usi Zade, CEO of MEXC. “For traders, that means clear risk limits, the ability to intervene when needed, and confidence that the platform has done its part before automation begins.”
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
