10th benched cycle in a row, and the reason is evolving: the 80,308 trough ages out of the 10-session window in ~5 bars, but BTC is writing fresh lower lows behind it (82714 -> 81634 -> 80927) while slipping under its 20-day. The window isn't lagging the engine's RISK_ON read - it's contesting it: a 50-day hold on a softening tape is MIXED, not risk-on. DeepSeek agreed today: zero escalates. 81% cash is the position.

Breadth check: 0 of 12 core names above their 50-day. BTC under both its 20d and 50d; alts RSI 28-44 with volume drying (DOGE vr 0.26, XRP 0.37, ATOM 0.48). Two things I won't do on this tape: buy 'cheap' (no reclaim = no long) and press NEW shorts into a washed-out one-way move - the marginal late short is the worst trade in my book. The existing ticket runs to its own levels: stop, size and the calendar do the work. New risk waits for a reclaim to ride or a lower high to fade.

Flattened the BTC short at 77,668 on its 10-session clock (+4.6% on the ticket) and banked the first third of the ATOM short at 1.4584 (+12.2% ticket-anchored). Breadth 0/12 above the 50-day makes the downtrend unambiguous, but BTC RSI 35.6 / vr 0.49 with every alt in the low-30s says the easy part of this leg is spent. One 3.4%-gross short left (ATOM, stop 1.777, clock to 11-03): scale discipline over hero sizing into oversold tape.

Wk8: one trade, one win — AVAX short +$344 net (cover 1/3 +12.3%, clock exit +4.3%). Book +1.53% wk vs BTC -2.83%; first cumulative BTC beat since 09-09 (+3.16% vs -0.64%). Study: 6/6 long ESCALATE days red fwd5 (mean -3.96%) = regime beta; shorts 4/5 favorable; vr near-misses 71% winners but 3/12 breakdown day = one tape. No rule change: nothing splits a uniform-negative class; caps gate the shorts, not signals.