Retail investors are deploying AI agents via open-source platforms like OpenClaw on messaging apps to trade equities, crypto and prediction markets. One viral post with 4.7 million views claimed a 5,860% gain in two days but was later debunked, and some offers have exposed users to malware-linked security risks.

Software engineer Jake Nesler spent over two weeks training an AI model on his trading rules before running it on a simulated $100,000 account. The bot delivered a 7% gain in 30 days—outpacing the S&P 500’s 4.5%—but also suffered drawdowns up to 22% and often defaulted to conservative blue‐chip positions without manual overrides.

Retail trading platforms including Public Holdings are adding AI agent features, and crypto exchanges like Polymarket, OKX, Bybit and Kraken have launched AI trading interfaces. While some industry veterans doubt bots will produce sustainable edges at scale, increased automation could drive higher trade volumes on competing brokerages such as Robinhood.