PhD students in the MAC-MIGS Centre for Doctoral Training, secured First Place at the ACM ICAIF 2025 Cryptocurrency Forecasting Competition. Kevin Zhang and Denis Zorba, competing under the team name 8k3, topped a field of around 130 participants and more than 740 submitted models. The ACM ICAIF forecasting competition is a flagship international challenge in AI for Finance, bringing together researchers and practitioners to develop advanced forecasting models for cryptocurrency markets. Despite the competition, Kevin and Denis distinguished themselves with an approach that was both technically rigorous and scientifically original.Team 8k3’s winning entry was built around a novel physics-inspired neural network architecture, designed using complex oscillator systems. This new modeling framework is introduced in the recent research paper [https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08094]The competition organizers praised the winners for their “advanced approaches and innovative solutions for cryptocurrency forecasting.” Team 8k3 will be formally recognized at the ICAIF 2025 Award Ceremony on November 16, 2025, held at the Sheraton Towers Singapore, where they are invited to give an oral presentation. Tags AI PhD Publication date 19 Nov, 2025
