RC Redcastle Crypto Risk basics
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Risk guide

What is a stop-loss, and how do you set one in a crypto trading app?

A stop-loss is one of the simplest risk-control tools a trader can use. It does not guarantee safety, but it helps you decide in advance where you are wrong instead of improvising after price starts moving against you.

Plain-English answer

What is a stop-loss?

A stop-loss is an order designed to reduce losses if price drops to a level you choose. You decide your invalidation point before the trade gets emotional. If price reaches that level, your trading app can automatically try to sell instead of waiting for you to react manually.

Example

Buy at $100, risk to $92

If you buy an asset at $100 and set a stop at $92, you are saying the trade no longer looks acceptable below that level.

Why it matters

It defines risk in advance

Without a stop plan, many traders hold and hope. A stop-loss forces a decision rule before stress takes over.

What it does not do

It does not guarantee your exact exit

Fast markets, gaps, and thin liquidity can cause slippage. A stop is risk control, not a promise.

How to set a stop-loss

The general steps are similar in most major apps.

Exact menus change over time, but most crypto trading apps follow roughly the same flow.

Step 1

Open the asset you own

Go to the coin or trading pair you want to protect.

Step 2

Choose Sell

Stops are usually entered from the sell ticket, because they are meant to reduce or close a position if price falls.

Step 3

Change the order type

Look for order type options such as Market, Limit, Stop, Stop-Loss, or Stop-Limit.

Step 4

Enter your stop price

This is the price level that triggers the order. If using stop-limit, you will also enter the limit price.

Step 5

Choose size

Decide whether the order should protect all of the position or only part of it.

Step 6

Review and submit

Double-check trigger price, size, and whether the order remains active until canceled.

Major app notes

How this usually looks in Coinbase, Robinhood, Kraken, Gemini, and Binance.US

Interface labels move around, so treat these as orientation notes, not permanent button-by-button screenshots.

Coinbase Advanced

Look for Stop or Stop-limit on the trade ticket

Open the market, choose Sell, then switch the order type from Market or Limit to Stop or Stop-limit. Enter your stop, size, review, and submit.

Robinhood

Use the order-type menu before submitting the sell order

Open the asset, tap Trade or Sell, then open the order options and choose a stop-style order if available for that asset and account mode.

Kraken Pro

Choose Stop Loss or Stop Loss Limit

On Kraken Pro, stop-style orders are usually clearly exposed inside the advanced order-ticket choices. Select the position size, stop level, and optional limit price.

Gemini

Look for stop-limit style controls in the advanced ticket

Gemini trading interfaces often emphasize advanced order types rather than beginner shortcuts. Check the trade ticket for stop or stop-limit selections before you place the sell order.

Binance.US

Switch from basic order type to Stop-Limit

On Binance.US, stop-limit is usually the common path. Enter the stop trigger, the limit price, and the amount you want to protect before confirming.

Reality check

Menus change

If the app looks different, search inside the trade ticket for Order type, Advanced, or Stop. The basic logic is almost always the same.

How Redcastle users can think about stops

Use the daily read to shape exposure, then define your own risk.

Redcastle can help with the market posture, the best-asset-or-cash read, and the reasoning around the setup. But each subscriber still needs to decide position size, time horizon, and where the trade is wrong.

  • If Redcastle is defensive, the best stop may be no new trade at all.
  • If Redcastle is selective, consider tighter risk because confirmation is incomplete.
  • If conviction is stronger, that still does not remove the need for a predefined exit.
  • A stop should sit at the point where your thesis is invalidated, not at a random round number.
Bottom line

A stop-loss is not about predicting perfectly. It is about staying disciplined.

Good traders do not just look for upside. They decide in advance what they will do if they are wrong. That is the real job of a stop-loss.

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