147% Gain in 24 Hours? The Truth About AI Trading Agents

On the surface, Milo is a relentless, emotionless trader. It never sleeps. It never panics. It doesn’t get greedy or stubborn. The promise is simple: effortless, precise profits. Yet, beneath the allure lies a messier truth.

Why Short-Term Gains Don’t Tell the Full Story

Pump Parade’s report is straightforward. They told Milo: find low-volume Solana coins with strong momentum and target at least 30% profit. Milo delivered a stunning 147% gain in 24 hours, turning $200 into $494.12.

But here’s the catch. One day of success doesn’t prove long-term effectiveness. It might simply be luck. The losses and failed experiments remain unseen behind the headline number.

Crypto markets move rapidly and unpredictably. Winning strategies today might fail tomorrow. Relying on lucky streaks is a gamble few can sustain.

Transparency on AI Trading Agents

Pump Parade later published another article, openly admitting AI agents like Milo are no magic bullets. They are not autonomous geniuses but tools that amplify whatever instructions they receive. If the prompts are vague or unclear, the AI will perform poorly.

Their study underscores that only about 7 out of 50+ prompts tested delivered meaningful profits. Many attempts failed or yielded nothing. This clear-eyed transparency distinguishes their work from hype-driven claims and offers a reality check: AI agents depend critically on human guidance and skill.

The Art and Challenge of Prompt Engineering

Much of Milo’s effectiveness is about how it’s instructed. The AI doesn’t invent strategies—it follows human-crafted rules. Pump Parade highlights the importance of clear, metric-driven prompts. For example, asking Milo to seek tokens with high holder growth and volume spikes.

Due to the volatile nature of crypto, prompts that work well today may lose relevance within 24 hours. Traders must constantly revisit and reengineer these prompts to keep pace. Without continuous human oversight and adaptation, portfolios risk spiraling into losses.

Pump Parade stresses this point: AI agents are powerful, but they don’t replace human judgment. They amplify it.

What the Critics Say

Skepticism about AI agents runs deep among crypto insiders. In a survey of 42 Solana founders, 16% labeled AI agents as “overrated,” more than any other sector.

Some go further. One observer said, “AI agents are just memecoins that talk.” Many AI agents are elaborate chatbots attached to speculative tokens. Some are even “Wizard of Oz” setups—humans pull the strings behind the scenes (remember Amazon GO and Builder.ai?).

The crypto space is unfortunately filled with pump-and-dump schemes—where groups hype up a token's price through coordinated promotion, only to sell off their holdings at the peak, leaving others with worthless assets. No matter how advanced an AI agent is, it can’t avoid falling victim to these manipulative cycles.

What Is a Pump and Dump?

For the uninitiated, a pump and dump is a classic scam. Scammers hype a cheap coin, often through social media pushes and hype channels. That “pump” drives the price up as new buyers rush in, fearing they’ll miss out.

Then the insiders dump their holdings at the peak. The price collapses. Newcomers get stuck with worthless coins—the dump.

It’s a fast, cruel cycle that funds savvy insiders and drains hopeful traders.

What's AI’s Real Edge?

Academic research shows pump-and-dump schemes still dominate crypto markets. Often, hype drives prices more than strong fundamentals.

Studies comparing AI trading systems with basic rule-based strategies sometimes find simple methods outperform AI approaches.

This raises a question: is AI’s edge genuine intelligence or just good prompt-following? The evidence suggests AI agents like Milo are sophisticated executioners of human-designed tactics rather than revolutionary traders themselves.

The Bottom Line of AI Trading Agents

That 147% return in a day is attention-grabbing and fuels dreams. But it's far from a clear, repeatable winning formula.

The most realistic reading is this: AI trading agents may become powerful tools, but only for those who already know what they’re doing. They don’t erase risk. They amplify it—just as efficiently, unemotionally, and rapidly as they amplify profit.

In simple terms, AI trading agents are like hammers: they’re strong and useful tools in the right hands, but they can cause serious damage if misused. They’ll hit exactly where you tell them to.