Parameters
Overview
Section titled “Overview”RSI has one primary parameter: Period (the number of bars used for RMA smoothing). Standard setting (14) was designed for stocks — crypto’s higher volatility often benefits from adjusted values.
RSI Period
What It Controls: Number of bars used for RMA smoothing of gains/losses.
Default: 14 bars
How It Works:
- Lower values (5–10): More responsive, generates extreme readings more frequently
- Standard values (11–16): Balanced responsiveness
- Higher values (17–25): Smoother, fewer extreme readings
What Happens at Extremes
Period = 5 (Very Short)
- RSI changes dramatically with each bar
- Reaches overbought/oversold zones frequently
- Useful for scalping
- Risk: excessive noise
Period = 21 (Very Long)
- RSI changes slowly
- Extreme readings rare but reliable
- Useful for position trading
- Risk: significant lag
Timeframe Recommendations
| Timeframe | Recommended | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1-Minute | 7–9 | Very responsive for scalping |
| 5-Minute | 9–11 | Balanced for intraday |
| 1-Hour | 14 | Standard |
| 4-Hour | 14–16 | Balanced for position entries |
| Daily | 14–21 | Standard for position trading |
Signal Line Period
What It Controls: Smoothing period for RSI’s signal line — a moving average of the RSI value itself.
Default: 9 bars
How It Works:
- Lower values (5–7): Signal line stays close to RSI, frequent crossovers
- Standard values (8–11): Balanced crossovers
- Higher values (12–20): Very smooth, rare but high-conviction crossovers
What Happens at Extremes
Threshold
What It Controls: Comparison value for rsi_above_threshold and rsi_below_threshold signals.
Default: 30/70
How It Works:
- Overbought: 70 (conservative), 75–80 (aggressive)
- Oversold: 30 (conservative), 20–25 (aggressive)
- Neutral: 50 (trend bias filter)
What Happens at Extremes