GoKawiilCoinbase engineer builds simulated fly brain that trades crypto, releases code on GitHub
A Coinbase engineer created 'Stonkfly,' an open-source simulation of a male fruit fly's brain and eyes containing 166,700 neurons and 25.6 million synaptic connections, and set it loose reading candlestick charts to buy, sell or hold cryptocurrencies. The virtual fly perceives price charts as raw pixel data through simulated photoreceptors, acts roughly every 500 milliseconds, and receives a dopamine-like reward signal for profitable trades and an aversive signal for losses, with trading fees also counted as losses.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The project is a playful but genuine demonstration of how biologically inspired neural models can be wired to arbitrary sensory inputs and reward signals, showing a link between visual data, artificial synapses and behavior rather than any real trading skill. The creator explicitly cautions against reading intelligence or forecasting ability into the fly's results, especially since rising crypto markets can make any strategy look profitable, though that likely won't stop enthusiasts from over-interpreting the outcome.
- Stonkfly simulates a fruit fly brain with 166,700 neurons trading crypto via candlestick chart images.
- Rewards mimic dopamine for gains and aversion signals for losses, including trading fees.
- The creator stresses the project proves neural-input connections work, not that the fly can actually trade well.
Models of the Mind" by Grace Lindsay — If watching a simulated fruit fly brain read candlestick charts makes you curious how neuroscience and computation actually fit together, this book is a great next step. Grace Lindsay walks through how mathematical and computational models are used to explain real brains, from single neurons to whole networks — exactly the ideas behind projects like Stonkfly.
See Models of the Mind" by Grace Lindsay on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: tomshardware.com — Bruno Ferreira, 2026-09-12
Published there as: “Engineer turns simulated fly brain into a crypto day trader, posts downloadable sim to GitHub — 166,700 virtual neurons read candlestick charts for dopamine hits”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.