Stigmergic Trading
PAPER MODEReplacing traditional algorithmic trading with emergent stigmergic behavior. Ants explore market states, deposit pheromones on profitable signals, and collectively converge on optimal strategies.
Performance Dashboard
Real-time trading performance. Equity curve, positions, and trade history.
Market Regime Analysis
Detecting market regimes is the single most important factor for profitability. We never trade in BEAR or CRASH regimes.
Pheromone Signal Flow
Network of pheromone trails between market states and trading actions. Superhighways (cyan) show proven profitable paths.
How Stigmergic Trading Works
Markets are a search space. Profitable trades are "food". The colony learns to find food efficiently through stigmergy - indirect coordination via environmental signals (pheromones).
When an ant finds a profitable signal, it deposits pheromones. Other ants are attracted to these trails. Over time, the colony converges on optimal trading strategies without any central control.
STAN Formula
signal_strength = trail / (1 + alarm)
effective_cost = base / (1 + pheromone * influence)
The Science Behind the Colony
Every trading mechanism is grounded in 30 years of biological research by Deborah Gordon. Click any chapter to see how ant behavior translates to market intelligence.
The Myth of the Queen
Why there's no boss, and why that's powerful
Task Allocation Without Instructions
How ants decide what to do without being told
Interaction Networks
Brief touches that coordinate millions
Foraging Regulation
Collective decisions through encounter rates
Colony Development and Personality
Why colonies have personalities that persist
Stigmergy: The Environment as Memory
Writing with chemistry, reading with antennae
Application to AI Ant Colony
Translating biology to code
Neighbor Colonies and Competition
Boundaries without borders
Colony Life Stages
From fragile founding to mature wisdom
Ecology and Environment
The colony becomes its environment
Evolution of Strategies
Cultural transmission in ant colonies
When Colonies Fail
Failure modes and recovery mechanisms
Trading Colony Castes
Scouts
20%
Explore new market states. Low pheromone sensitivity. Discover new opportunities.
Harvesters
50%
Execute on proven signals. High pheromone sensitivity. Follow superhighways.
Relays
20%
Propagate market information. Amplify weak signals. Connect isolated trails.
Hybrids
10%
Adapt to regime changes. Switch between exploration and exploitation dynamically.
Safety Systems
Circuit Breakers
- Daily P&L < -2% → Halt trading
- Max drawdown > 5% → Halt trading
- 5 consecutive losses → Halt trading
Position Limits
- Base risk: 0.5% per trade
- Max risk: 1% per trade
- Max position: 3% total
Proven Parameters
- Stop loss: 2.5x ATR (optimal)
- Take profit: 4.0x ATR (1.6:1)
- Trailing stop: Enabled
Lessons from Ants at Work