01 · Research
Pre-trade token brief
A sourced one-pager before you size a spot or perp idea: what the asset is, what can reprice it, and what you have not checked.
- Level
- Starter
- Cadence
- Once per new idea, again when a load-bearing fact changes
- Read
- 8 min
- Updated
Definition
A pre-trade token brief is a sourced memo that answers whether you understand an asset well enough to risk a size you have not chosen yet. The agent gathers public facts. You decide if the idea survives.
Who it is for
Discretionary traders who size a position only after they can restate the idea without the chart open.
Job to be done
Produce a one-page brief a human can accept, reject, or send back for a missing check before any order is discussed.
Human gate. You read the brief and write accept, reject, or revise. The agent does not propose a size, an entry, or an order.
Inputs and outputs
Inputs
- The asset, the chain or venue, and the horizon you actually trade
- The decision the brief supports: more research, a paper pass, or a hard pass
- Facts you already trust, so the agent does not redo them
- A time box, usually one sitting
Outputs
- A one-page brief with a source and a date on every load-bearing claim
- A separate rumor list
- Three ways the idea fails that are not "the market dumps"
- A list of unknowns specific enough to be the next check
Step-by-step workflow
- 01Lock the questionWrite the asset, the venue you would use, the horizon, and the decision the brief supports. Leave size blank on purpose.
- 02Set the source orderDocs and contracts first, then explorers, then market data, then commentary. Commentary cannot override a primary source.
- 03Require a fact tableEach row is claim, source, date observed, and whether you verified it. Anything without a source goes to the rumor list.
- 04Force the bear caseAsk for three failure modes that are mechanical: unlock, admin key, liquidity, emissions, oracle, or a venue that can halt the market.
- 05End on unknownsThe brief is finished when the unknown list tells you the next check, not when the prose sounds confident.
- 06Human gateRestate the idea in your own words. If you cannot, it is a reject or a revise, not an accept.
Suggested tool types
These are categories of tools, not product picks. Crypto Agent Desk does not certify vendors and does not run an affiliate program.
| Type | Why it is here |
|---|---|
| Chat model with retrieval | Drafts the memo and keeps citations next to claims. |
| Project docs and governance forum | Primary source for what the protocol says it does. |
| Block explorer or indexer | Supply, admin keys, and proxy status you can reopen. |
| Market data API | Venues, volume, and funding as numbers, not color. |
Risks and failure modes
Stale blog as fact
Without a date on each claim, the agent will treat last cycle’s announcement as current.
Advice drift
If you ask "should I buy", you will get a recommendation. Ask for a brief.
False precision on holders
Cluster labels are estimates. A "team wallet" the model names is not an identity.
Operator notes
Run this before you care about the chart. The expensive version of the mistake is a clean paragraph that cites a dashboard you never opened.
Fact table
Keep four columns and refuse a fifth called “conviction”.
| Claim | Source | Observed | Verified by you |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it claims to do | Docs URL | Date | Yes or no |
| Who can upgrade the contract | Explorer | Date | Yes or no |
| Next supply event | Emissions page or forum | Date | Yes or no |
Prompt you can paste
Write a pre-trade brief for ASSET on VENUE. Horizon: HORIZON.
Decision this brief supports: more research, paper pass, or hard pass. Do not suggest size, entry, or an order.
Source order: docs, contracts, explorer, market data, then commentary.
For every load-bearing claim give the source and the date. Put unsourced claims in a rumor list.
Give three mechanical ways the idea fails. End with unknowns I can check next.Done when
You can say what the asset is, what would kill the idea, and which fact you have not checked, without scrolling back to the memo.
FAQ
Does this replace a written thesis?
No. It is the packet you read before you write the thesis yourself. If the memo is the only place the idea exists, you do not have one.
Can the agent pick the token?
This playbook starts after you name the asset. Idea generation is a different job and hides a different failure mode: the model shopping for a story.
What if two primary sources disagree?
Keep both, with dates. Do not let the agent average them into a smoother sentence.
Published . Updated . This is an operating playbook, not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.