Educational reference. Measured from 288 recorded 5m bars of BTCUSD (Bitcoin) on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 4 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 7 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 2.1% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 88.2%, and below 30 for 9.7%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 2.1% | 6 | 4 | 7 min | 10 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 88.2% | 254 | 7 | 95 min | 510 min | |
| Below 30 | 9.7% | 28 | 2 | 70 min | 125 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 4 times, with a median stay of 7 minutes and a longest of 10. 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.