RSI (Relative Strength Index)

Glossary · Technical Analysis

RSI (Relative Strength Index) is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed of recent price gains against losses on a 0–100 scale, typically over 14 candles. Readings above 70 signal overbought conditions and below 30 oversold — but in strong trends RSI can stay pinned at extremes for weeks.

"Overbought doesn't mean sell, friend — it means the trend is strong enough to hurt you if you fade it blind."

The default 14-period RSI compares average up-moves to average down-moves and squeezes the ratio into 0–100. In a sideways market, 70/30 works as advertised. In a trend it recalibrates: bull markets tend to hold RSI in roughly a 40–80 band and bear markets 20–60, so an RSI of 68 in an uptrend isn't 'overbought', it's normal cruising speed. Timeframe matters too — a daily RSI extreme carries weight the 5-minute never will.

The classic account-killer is shorting RSI 75 into a fresh breakout because 'it has to come down'. It doesn't. Strong trends pin RSI at extremes for weeks while the mean-reversion crowd feeds them. The higher-quality read is divergence — price makes a new high, RSI makes a lower one — and even that is a warning light, not a sell button. Use RSI to grade the trend's health; don't fade strength with nothing but a number.

Filter coins by RSI zone in the screener

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Questions

What is RSI in crypto trading?

RSI (Relative Strength Index) is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed of recent price gains against losses on a 0–100 scale, typically over 14 candles. Readings above 70 signal overbought conditions and below 30 oversold — but in strong trends RSI can stay pinned at extremes for weeks.

How would a trader say it?

Overbought doesn't mean sell, friend — it means the trend is strong enough to hurt you if you fade it blind.

Part of the Crypto Jargon glossary — every term, decoded the way a trader would say it.

Crypto Jargon

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