The Decision Protocol: Seven Decisions Before and After Every Crypto Position
Four decisions before the order is placed, three after. The seven-step framework Crypto Renegades members use to turn market opinions into a repeatable process.
Updated
The Decision Protocol is a seven-step framework for every crypto position: define the thesis, set the loss boundary, size the position, check total exposure, plan the trade, journal the result and review the decision. The first five steps happen before you place the order, and the last two after it closes. The order matters, because each step depends on the one before it.
We built it because the members who struggled were rarely short on market knowledge. They were short on a sequence. Knowing a hundred facts about crypto does not help if you answer the questions in the wrong order, or skip the ones that protect your capital.
Before the trade
1. Define the thesis
State what you believe the market is doing and what evidence supports the trade. Keep it to two sentences you could read to someone else.
Example: "ETH has held its weekly support through two retests while funding reset to neutral. I expect a move back to the range high."
If you cannot write it, you do not have a trade. You have a feeling. See trade thesis.
2. Set the loss boundary
Decide the maximum acceptable loss before emotion enters the decision. Two parts: the price where the thesis is wrong (the invalidation level) and the dollar amount you accept losing if it gets there (your risk per trade).
Example: "A weekly close below support invalidates it. I risk 1% of the account, $500."
3. Size the position
Build position size around the loss boundary, not around excitement or a desired profit.
Position size = amount at risk ÷ distance from entry to stop.
Example: entry $3,000, stop $2,820 (6% away), risk $500. Position size: $500 ÷ 6% ≈ $8,333. Our position size calculator does the arithmetic, and the position sizing guide explains it in depth.
4. Check total exposure
Understand liquidation distance and how one position affects the rest of the portfolio. Ask three questions: how much total risk is open right now, how correlated are these positions, and if leveraged, is the liquidation price well beyond the stop?
Example: "I already have two altcoin longs open at 1% each. With this one, 3% of the account is exposed to the same Bitcoin move. That is within my 4% cap."
5. Plan the trade
Set the entry, stop and exit logic before execution. Where do you enter, where does the stop sit, where do you take partial profit, and what would make you close early?
Example: "Limit entry at $3,000. Stop at $2,820. Take a third off at $3,300, move the stop to entry, and trail the rest below each higher weekly low."
A plan made in calm conditions is the one you can follow when the market is loud.
After the trade
6. Journal the result
Record what happened and whether the process was followed. The thesis, levels, size, outcome, and one honest line: did you follow the plan? Memory keeps the wins and edits the losses. A trading journal keeps both.
7. Review the decision
Bring the reasoning into a feedback setting where it can be inspected, challenged and corrected. Over time, the journal produces numbers such as win rate and profit factor that show whether the process is working and where it breaks down.
Inside Crypto Renegades, this happens in live sessions, where members bring completed decision work and instructors look for the step where the protocol broke.
A template you can copy
THESIS: ________________________________________
INVALIDATION: price ______ RISK: $______ (___% of account)
SIZE: risk ÷ stop distance = ______
EXPOSURE: open risk now ___% correlated with ______ liq. price ______
PLAN: entry ______ stop ______ targets ______ close early if ______
RESULT: ______ FOLLOWED PLAN? yes / no WHY: __________
REVIEW NOTE: ________________________________________
What the protocol cannot do
The protocol cannot remove market risk. Crypto is volatile, positions will be stopped out, and losses are a normal part of trading. What the protocol does is make each decision visible. Visible decisions can be reviewed, and reviewed decisions can improve.
If you want to learn it with people who run it every week, and have your own decisions reviewed live, book a fit call. We will give you a straight answer on whether the program fits.
Frequently asked questions
The Decision Protocol is the seven-step framework Crypto Renegades teaches for every crypto position: define the thesis, set the loss boundary, size the position, check total exposure, plan the trade, journal the result and review the decision.
No. No process removes market risk, and losses are a normal part of trading. A checklist makes your decisions consistent and reviewable, which is what allows them to improve over time.
Once it is familiar, the pre-trade steps take a few minutes. Most of the time is spent on the thesis, which is where the thinking should go anyway.
General education only, not financial advice. Crypto and leverage involve substantial risk of loss. Read our risk disclosure.
Written by
Niko MercurisCo-Founder and Mastermind Lead, Crypto Renegades
Niko has operated in business and financial markets for more than 25 years. He trained at Online Trading Academy under hedge fund traders, traded stocks and options through 2008, and moved into crypto futures when leverage reached decentralized platforms. He is the author of Millionaire Mindset Mastery.
