Stop Using Vision LLMs to Read Trading Charts β 4 Models, 2 Vendors, 40 Real Signals: 51% Direction, 1/215 Patterns, 100% Long-Bias on Gemini
A deep empirical audit of using frontier vision LLMs as chart-pattern experts in a production crypto signal pipeline. Tested against QuantAgent (arXiv:2509.09995), the paper repeatedly cited as proof that LLM agents can trade from candlesticks.
Conducted April 2026. Every model called, every call logged, every fixture tied to a verified trade outcome. Four frontier models, two vendors (Anthropic, Google), 215 LLM calls, $1.16 total spent.
From the team building signals.x70.ai β a production AI-powered crypto signals service. Open-source companion: roman-rr/trading-skills.
Formal preprint. A peer-review-format PDF version of this audit is published as a preprint: