What is Kill-Switch?
The protective override that suppresses risk-on signals when macro/regime gates all flip together.
Definition
The 2026 kill-switch is a multi-condition protective gate. When *all four* of the following align, it forces a portfolio-level reweighting (typically +30% Gold/Oil, -30% equity risk) and freezes scalping protocols: regime locks WAR/CRISIS, narrative heat exceeds threshold, headline shock count crosses 2-of-3 tiers, and a physical-disruption headline (war, sanctions, peg break, choke-point) is detected by the news tier engine.
Why it matters for trading
- Bias engines that ignore tail risk get destroyed in 1-in-50-day events. The kill-switch is the institutional discipline that institutional desks impose by hand; Strata automates it.
- Single-condition kill-switches false-fire too often (every Brent spike triggers oil regime). Four-of-four ensures it only fires when the whole macro stack aligns — high precision over high recall.
- The kill-switch is asymmetric: it shuts off risk-on but does not auto-reverse to risk-off — it only enforces *defensive* reweights. Discretionary risk-off entry remains your call.