MEXC CEO Vugar Usi discusses investment decisions alongside restaurant reviews and vacation photos. People see what others are doing well and then try to replicate it.
"I call it a life optimized for the screen," Usi said during TOKEN2049.
AI offers investors another source of advice and is increasingly capable of acting on their behalf. On September 28, MEXC launched a tool that connects users' own AI agents to the exchange, allowing them to prepare and execute trades, with key actions still requiring confirmation.
Heading into 2027, the path from someone else's idea to an investor's order is becoming shorter and shorter. Ultimately, how much judgment will be left to the people who actually bear the financial risk?
When did a portfolio become a personal profile?
Usi believes social trading is becoming "a status signal." An investment can express whom someone admires, or how early they spotted an opportunity.
"Sometimes you want to say: I invested in Amazon ten years ago. I was one of the first to spot a certain opportunity."
Research supports taking these motivations seriously. A study published by the FINRA Foundation in April, based on its 2024 investor survey, found that social activity motivated 59% of investors who use social media, compared with 11% of non-social-media users.
The same study also found a gap between confidence and tested investment knowledge among these users. Social trading can make markets more approachable, but it can also leave investors unsure how to judge the opinions they encounter.
Usi said enthusiasm for AI companies has helped drive trading on MEXC.
"It's the topic everyone is talking about, and it drives trading."
Following hot themes makes opportunities easier to find. But judging whether the price is reasonable still requires separate work.
Can ordinary investors borrow the advantages of quantitative institutions?
Usi believes AI can help individuals use some of the analytical logic that professional trading firms have long possessed.
"Quantitative institutions have been doing algorithmic trading for years. What AI is doing is helping individual users benefit from this kind of logic."
Professional trading also relies on tested strategies and reliable data. Giving a person an AI assistant does not prove that he can replicate the results of a quantitative fund.
MEXC's October 15 survey of 3,708 crypto traders found that 84.8% had used AI for research or trading. Among AI users, 65.9% at least sometimes act on its advice.
These are findings from the company's sample. The improvements reported also reflect users' subjective impressions rather than independently measured returns.
Usi expects the next step to involve a greater degree of delegation.
"Soon I believe we will see a large number of autonomous agents that can rebalance your portfolio and seize opportunities."
This would shift the investor's task to evaluating a system whose individual decisions the investor may find difficult to review one by one.
Who is watching your money while you sleep?
As trading hours extend, this appeal becomes more obvious.
"As the saying goes, money never sleeps, and exchanges never sleep. But humans need to sleep," Usi said.
Nasdaq plans to launch 23-hour trading five days a week on December 6. This expands the window for investors to react to events before 2027.
Usi envisions software managing positions during these hours.
"Maybe in the future, AI agents will no longer rely on liquidation and stop-loss, but will be able to make better decisions before you reach the danger zone."
This remains a proposed benefit. The interview provided no performance evidence that AI can prevent forced liquidation of leveraged trades. An agent being able to stay active at night does not show whether its decisions are sound.
Longer market hours also give investors more opportunities to act impulsively. Automation can help execute a plan, provided the system follows limits set before the excitement begins.
Does clicking confirm equal control?
Currently, Usi describes a step approved by humans.
"They can give you an idea of what to do, and you just need to confirm the trade before execution."
A confirmation button leaves investors with a consequential job: understanding what they are approving. A confident explanation can make weak advice sound persuasive.
Usi's broader position is that safeguards should be retained.
"That's our goal with AI: you should be alert to dangers and limits, and you should not give up these limits, especially in finance."
The Financial Stability Board's October 15 guidance calls for human oversight based on the autonomy and risk of AI systems. Effective oversight requires not only the ability to approve but also the ability to intervene.
How much are you actually willing to hand over?
MEXC's survey suggests users draw boundaries. In a scenario where transfers and withdrawals are prohibited, 54% would only let AI trade with no more than 20% of their account assets. Only 6.5% would authorize more than half.
Usi also recognizes the commercial importance of the customer relationship.
"Either you own the customer and can bring all services to them, or you don't."
When a platform both helps shape investment ideas and provides the tools to execute them, this relationship becomes even more important.
By 2027, more investors may spend their time overseeing decisions they once made themselves. Their control will depend on whether they understand the authority they have delegated—and whether they can take it back when a strategy no longer fits their needs.
