China’s DeepSeek and Alibaba’s Qwen AI Dominate Crypto Trading Challenge

China’s DeepSeek and Alibaba’s Qwen AI Beat Rivals in Crypto Trading Contest

Two AI innovations from China, DeepSeek and Alibaba's Qwen, have outperformed their Western alternatives in a recent live cryptocurrency trading contest, achieving remarkable gains in just under two weeks.

Key Takeaways:

Chinese AI models DeepSeek and Qwen lead a cryptocurrency trading contest.
DeepSeek AI achieved a 126% increase, escalating an initial $10,000 investment to $22,900, while Alibaba’s Qwen 3 Max saw a 108% growth, bringing its capital up to $20,850.
In stark contrast, OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro encountered significant losses, nearing a 60% decline in their portfolios.

According to Alpha Arena, a trading challenge organized by the US research firm Nof1, DeepSeek's Chat V3.1 transformed a starting investment of $10,000 into $22,900 by Monday, marking a significant 126% gain since the competition commenced on October 18.

Alibaba’s Qwen AI Doubles Investment, Trails DeepSeek

Qwen 3 Max, created by Alibaba Group Holding, closely followed with a 108% return, doubling its initial funds to $20,850.

At one point between October 24 and 26, Qwen briefly surpassed DeepSeek but ultimately slipped back to second place.

In stark contrast, Western AI models were left lagging. OpenAI's GPT-5 recorded the lowest performance with a nearly 60% reduction in its assets, while Google DeepMind’s Gemini 2.5 Pro faced a 57% loss.

Other competitors, xAI’s Grok 4 and Anthropic’s Claude 4.5 Sonnet, performed somewhat better, returning 14% and 23% respectively.

The ongoing contest features six prominent AI models competing in live crypto markets, each starting with an initial capital of $10,000 and access to real-time trading data.

Their objective is to maximize returns by trading top cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Dogecoin (DOGE) through advanced algorithmic decisions and flexible strategies.

“Our aim with Alpha Arena is to create benchmarks that reflect reality more accurately — and what better environment than the markets to achieve this?” stated Nof1 on their website.

By Monday morning, both DeepSeek and GPT-5 held diverse long positions across six different assets, while Qwen opted for a solely Ether-focused strategy, benefitting from a consistent upward trend.

The sharp gains realized by the Chinese models coincided with a resurgence in Bitcoin, reaching around $114,000, and Ethereum's recovery after a period of significant fluctuations.

The contest is scheduled to conclude on November 3, and Chinese AI contenders have shown exceptional adaptability to the volatile crypto landscape.

DeepSeek AI Forecasts Major Gains for Ethereum, Cardano, and XRP

DeepSeek AI has recently announced an optimistic outlook for the crypto market, predicting substantial rallies for Ethereum, Cardano, and XRP as the year progresses.

Despite the recent market fluctuations triggered by Donald Trump’s announcements regarding tariffs on Chinese imports, DeepSeek believes this correction will set the stage for a robust rebound.

The AI model interprets the recent sell-off as a necessary adjustment that could launch the next phase of a broader bull market, aligning with historical "Uptober" trends.

For Ethereum, DeepSeek envisions potential price hikes to between $12,000 and $15,000, which would represent a remarkable increase of up to 280% from current levels.

Its pivotal role in decentralized finance and prospective crypto-friendly regulations under Trump's administration could bolster institutional interest.

Currently, Ethereum is facing resistance around the $4,000 mark, but DeepSeek forecasted that a breakout could propel prices to new all-time highs before the year concludes.

DeepSeek's projections for Cardano and XRP are equally ambitious, expecting ADA to soar to $7-$10 by late 2025, marking over a 1,200% rise, supported by Cardano's growing developer community and technical advancements.

Meanwhile, XRP's price could approach $10 as investor confidence is likely to strengthen following improved regulatory clarity and strategic partnerships, buoyed by Ripple's recent courtroom success against the SEC.