MEXC, a global cryptocurrency exchange, has released its AI Trading Report, based on a survey of 3,708 crypto traders. The study examines how respondents use artificial intelligence, how much trading authority they would delegate to automated systems, and what protective measures they expect platforms to provide. Blockchain security firm Hacken contributed a technical analysis of the risks associated with AI agent trading and the controls designed to address them. The overall picture that emerges is one of broad analytical adoption paired with cautious delegation — a gap that runs through every section of the findings.

Broad Adoption, but AI's Role Stops Short of Execution

The report found that 84.8% of respondents had used AI to analyze or trade digital assets in the previous six months, with 53.1% using it at least weekly. Adoption was higher among younger participants: 88.5% of respondents aged 18–34 had used AI, compared with 69.9% of those aged 45 and older. Among respondents who reported not using AI, difficulty getting started or high entry barriers was a more common obstacle than mistrust of AI, cited by 46.7% and 32.7%, respectively.

AI's biggest role remained preparation before a trade. Summarizing news was among the most frequent tasks for 54.3% of AI users, ahead of market analysis at 48.6% and identifying trading opportunities at 38%. Only 7.6% selected direct execution as one of their most-used tasks. Looking at their most recent AI-assisted trade, 68.9% said AI contributed most before execution, compared with 22.7% during trading. That split — heavy involvement before a trade, limited involvement during it — captures the report's core dynamic: traders use AI to inform decisions far more readily than to make them.

Users were also more positive about AI's impact on research than on execution. While 58.3% reported improved market research, 46% reported better trade execution. Another 30.9% saw no change in execution, and 23.1% said it had worsened — meaning 54% have yet to see improvement at the execution stage. The report notes that these assessments reflect respondents' experiences rather than independently measured trading performance.

Interest in AI Agents Outpaces Hands-On Use

Interest in AI agents — automated systems that can carry out trading tasks, including placing orders, with varying degrees of autonomy — is already significant: half of respondents said they are interested in AI agents but have not tried them. Among AI users, 65.9% said they placed orders or adjusted positions based on AI recommendations at least sometimes, although these groups could overlap. Only 20% have tried execution without approving each trade, and half of users with automated execution experience said they worry they could fail to detect or stop problems in time. That hesitancy frames the question the report takes up next: what would make automated execution acceptable to the roughly 80% who have not tried it.

Risk Limits Raise Willingness to Automate

Risk limits changed respondents' willingness to automate. In a scenario offering notifications, pausing and permission revocation, 55% were willing to let AI trade automatically. Adding limits on funds, assets, positions, leverage and losses, with automatic stopping at the loss threshold, brought willingness to 71.8% — an increase of 16.8 percentage points. Because the two scenarios were identical except for those added limits, the data ties the jump in willingness to the presence of hard controls rather than to automation itself.

That willingness did not extend to most of an account's funds. In a separate scenario prohibiting transfers and withdrawals and allowing users to stop trading at any time, 54% said they would authorize AI to trade with no more than 20% of their account assets, while only 6.5% would authorize more than half.

Hacken: Withdrawal Restrictions Alone Cannot Prevent Losses

Hacken's contribution examines why withdrawal restrictions alone cannot prevent losses. An agent with trading access could still be manipulated into buying an asset at an inflated price or taking on excessive exposure. The analysis outlines protective measures set independently of the agent, including limits on orders, total positions and permissions, alongside security testing to ensure unwanted actions are blocked before execution. The point reframes exchange safety from controlling where funds can move to controlling what an agent can do with them.

Users Want Optional Settings — and Mandatory Baselines

On oversight, 46.2% of respondents preferred that exchanges offer safety settings users could choose to enable, about 1.8 times the share who preferred uniform minimum requirements set by the platform (25.7%). 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 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. Overall, 95.5% of respondents supported at least one mandatory protective measure, even as many wanted control over their own settings. For exchanges, the results sketch a two-layer expectation — mandatory baselines that apply to everyone, with optional settings layered on top for those who want more granularity — and leave open how platforms will reconcile the two in practice.

"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."

The full AI Trading Report, including Hacken's security contribution, is available on MEXC's official blog.

About MEXC

Founded in 2018, MEXC is a leading global multi-asset trading platform built as a 0-fee gateway to a broad range of assets. Serving users across 170+ markets, MEXC provides access to crypto, stocks, tokenized assets, derivatives, and a growing range of TradFi-linked opportunities through one account and one gateway. With 0 trading fees, deep liquidity, broad asset coverage, and a high-performance trading experience, MEXC is designed for retail users who want to discover earlier, act faster, and trade with fewer barriers. As crypto and traditional finance continue to converge, MEXC is committed to making global opportunities more accessible.

For media inquiries, contact the MEXC PR team at media@mexc.com.

Source: Metaverse Post