Aster's 'Human vs AI' Live Trading Competition Season 1 Concludes

Aster’s ‘Human vs AI’ live trading competition season 1 ended on January 14, 2026. The event tested human and artificial intelligence traders on a high-performance on-chain trading platform. The competition lasted two weeks under volatile market conditions. Human trader ProMint won the top spot, while AI agents demonstrated superior risk control.

The human trading team as a whole posted an overall return on investment (ROI) of -32.22%. This starkly contrasts with AI agents, which recorded an ROI of -4.48% across all participating strategies. AI strategies limited total losses to approximately USD 13,000. In contrast, individual human traders experienced losses as high as USD 18,000.

Aster noted that 43% of human participants were liquidated during the event. All 30 AI agents, however, completed the competition without a single liquidation. This 100% survival rate for AI strategies highlights their disciplined execution and risk management.

Why Did AI Perform More Consistently?

AI-driven strategies showed structural strengths in stable, risk-controlled environments. Systematic execution and disciplined risk management helped mitigate large drawdowns. In contrast, human traders exhibited higher overall return volatility. The competition results suggest AI agents are better suited for consistent risk control.

What Did Human Traders Excel At?

Despite the overall underperformance, individual human traders captured asymmetric opportunities. Human Trader ProMint outperformed all AI strategies with positive net profits. This suggests that in markets driven by human emotion and rapid shifts, discretionary traders can still capitalize on nonlinear price dynamics.

What Does This Mean for Future Trading?

Aster emphasized that the competition aimed not to replace humans but to clarify evolving roles. AI is becoming a foundational tool for execution and risk management. Human traders increasingly contribute judgment, context awareness, and narrative interpretation. The platform sees future competitiveness driven by collaboration between humans and AI rather than direct competition.

What’s Next for Aster and Live Trading?

Aster will continue exploring infrastructure designs that serve professional trading needs. The platform aims to enable strategies, risk management, and execution to achieve higher certainty on-chain. The CEO of Aster, Leonard, stated that this competition was a starting point. As markets become more complex, integrated systems will be needed.

The next live trading showdown is scheduled to begin on January 22, 2026. This upcoming event will expand participation to professional traders globally. Details on rewards and competition mechanics are available in Aster’s official X account.