diff --git a/crates/ml-features/src/mbp10_loader.rs b/crates/ml-features/src/mbp10_loader.rs
index b08986c1d..de1ff6641 100644
--- a/crates/ml-features/src/mbp10_loader.rs
+++ b/crates/ml-features/src/mbp10_loader.rs
@@ -661,8 +661,16 @@ pub fn mbp10_to_imbalance_bars(
     // Sort by timestamp (files should be chronological but ensure correctness)
     all_trades.sort_by(|a, b| a.timestamp.cmp(&b.timestamp));
 
-    tracing::info!(
-        "Extracted {} trade ticks, feeding into ImbalanceBarSampler (threshold={}, alpha={})",
+    // wgdc8 experiment: EWMA adaptation bypassed. With α=0.1 the configured
+    // threshold is washed out within ~5 bars (recursion: T_new = 0.1·T_old +
+    // 0.9·observed; fixed point is the data's natural imbalance scale, not
+    // the configured value). To make `imbalance_bar_threshold` actually
+    // honored — and the resolution-hypothesis smoke meaningful — use the
+    // fixed-threshold constructor. ewma_alpha=0.1 is logged for cache-key
+    // continuity but does not drive bar formation on this branch.
+    tracing::warn!(
+        "wgdc8: EWMA adaptation BYPASSED. Feeding {} trade ticks into \
+         ImbalanceBarSampler with FIXED threshold={} (config alpha={} ignored)",
         all_trades.len(),
         threshold,
         ewma_alpha,
@@ -671,7 +679,7 @@ pub fn mbp10_to_imbalance_bars(
     // Initialize sampler with first trade
     let first = &all_trades[0];
     let mut sampler =
-        ImbalanceBarSampler::new_with_ewma(first.price, threshold, first.timestamp, ewma_alpha);
+        ImbalanceBarSampler::new(first.price, threshold, first.timestamp);
 
     let mut bars: Vec<OHLCVBar> = Vec::new();
     for trade in &all_trades {