What is RSI in crypto?
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum indicator that measures the speed of recent price changes on a scale from 0 to 100, usually over 14 periods. Readings above 70 are called overbought and below 30 oversold. It shows how stretched a move is, not where the price goes next.
From the Staxo crypto glossary. The examples use Kraken daily candles (UTC), Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026, for the eight coins on Staxo's free plan that are not stablecoins.
How RSI is calculated
RSI compares the size of recent gains with the size of recent losses. For each day, take the change in the closing price. Average the gains and, separately, the losses over the last 14 days. The ratio of the two averages is the relative strength (RS), and RSI = 100 − 100 ÷ (1 + RS).
J. Welles Wilder, who introduced the indicator in 1978, smoothed the averages instead of starting over each day: the new average gain is 13/14 of the old one plus 1/14 of today's gain, and the same for losses. That is why two charts can show slightly different RSI values for the same coin when their data starts on different dates.
If all 14 days were gains, RSI is 100. If gains and losses were the same size, it is 50. On Oct 10, 2026, Bitcoin's daily RSI was 51.5, between 50 and 70, slightly on the side of gains.
How often did the top coins go below 30 or above 70?
| Coin | Days below 30 | Days above 70 | Lowest reading | Highest reading | Last reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardano | 29 | 6 | 12.1, Jun 5, 2026 | 76.9, Aug 21, 2026 | 53.8 |
| Solana | 24 | 13 | 15.7, Jun 6, 2026 | 86.4, Aug 24, 2026 | 44.4 |
| Bitcoin | 22 | 15 | 15.4, Jun 6, 2026 | 85.9, Aug 21, 2026 | 51.5 |
| Ethereum | 22 | 12 | 12.8, Jun 6, 2026 | 88.3, Aug 21, 2026 | 41.1 |
| Dogecoin | 21 | 14 | 19.0, Jun 5, 2026 | 84.6, Aug 23, 2026 | 41.9 |
| BNB | 20 | 14 | 16.2, Feb 5, 2026 | 85.2, Aug 24, 2026 | 47.6 |
| XRP | 13 | 10 | 17.1, Feb 5, 2026 | 86.9, Aug 23, 2026 | 44.2 |
| TRON | 10 | 39 | 27.4, Nov 3, 2025 | 84.1, May 21, 2026 | 37.8 |
Cardano spent the most days in oversold territory, 29. TRON spent the most above 70, 39 days. Bitcoin's own extremes were 15.4 on Jun 6, 2026 and 85.9 on Aug 21, 2026.
Four other coins hit their lowest RSI of the year within a week of Bitcoin's lowest. The coins fell together, so their RSI readings did too.
Overbought does not mean about to fall
TRON was overbought on more days than any other coin and ended the year +2.9%, the best result of the eight. Cardano was oversold on 29 days and still ended -62.0%. An overbought reading did not mean a fall was coming, and an oversold one did not mean a recovery: the readings kept coming while the moves went on.
RSI measures how fast the price has moved, not whether the move is over. In a strong trend it can stay above 70 or below 30 for long stretches, which is why many traders read it together with the trend, support and resistance or a moving average, and do not treat it as a signal on its own.
It also lags. RSI is built from the last 14 closes, so it describes what the price has already done. Nothing in it says what the next close will be.
How to practice it in Staxo
RSI is on the free plan in Staxo. Open any coin from the Market tab, switch on RSI in the indicator row under the chart and pick a timeframe: 1D, 1W, 1M, 6M or 1Y. The app uses the same 14-period setting, calculated on the points of the chart you are looking at, so the reading changes with the timeframe.
A useful exercise with the $500 in demo money: each time a coin's RSI goes under 30 or over 70, write down the reading and the price, make a small trade or decide not to, and look at the result a week later. After a few weeks you will see how often a stretched RSI kept stretching. Staxo Pro adds MACD and Bollinger Bands to put a trend view and a volatility view next to it.
Free on iPhone and Android, $500 in demo money. Also on Google Play.Also on the App Store.
RSI questions
What do RSI 70 and 30 mean?
They are the standard thresholds. A reading above 70 is called overbought, below 30 oversold: the price has risen or fallen fast compared with its own recent moves. Some traders use 80 and 20 in strong trends. Neither level is a buy or sell signal by itself.
Which RSI period is best for crypto?
Fourteen periods is the default and the setting Staxo uses. A shorter period, such as 7, reacts faster and reaches the extremes more often. A longer one, such as 21, is smoother and reaches them less often. There is no best setting, only a trade-off between speed and noise.
Does RSI work for crypto?
It measures momentum in crypto the same way as anywhere else, but it does not predict. From Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026, Bitcoin's daily RSI was below 30 on 22 days and above 70 on 15, while TRON stayed above 70 on 39 days. The readings described the moves correctly and said nothing about how long they would last.
Try it with $500 in demo money.
Free download, no card. Also on Google Play.Also on the App Store.
Educational content, not investment advice. The examples describe prices from Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026 and say nothing about where they go next. Staxo is a simulator: you practice with demo money, never real money.