Educational reference. Measured from 288 recorded 5m bars of BTCUSD (Bitcoin) on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 7 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 5 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 12.8% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 86.8%, and below 30 for 0.3%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 12.8% | 37 | 7 | 5 min | 110 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 86.8% | 250 | 9 | 15 min | 715 min | |
| Below 30 | 0.3% | 1 | 1 | 5 min | 5 min |
RSI compares the size of recent gains with recent losses, so a reading above 70 says buying has dominated the last 14 bars — not that price is high. A long stay above 70 is a market trending up, which is the opposite of the reversal the word 'overbought' suggests.
Here the reading entered overbought territory 7 times, with a median stay of 5 minutes and a longest of 110. A brief excursion above 70 that resolves in minutes is noise on this timeframe. A sustained one is the signature of a trend that is still running, and selling into it is how traders get run over.