Dean Cross

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Overbought

Why RSI Lies to Crypto Traders — and How to Fix It

RSI works in crypto. The rulebook does not. This book is the rewrite.

It is November 2020. Bitcoin has just crossed $19,000. A trader sees the RSI touch 75 — overbought, by every textbook ever written. So he sells.

By April 2021, Bitcoin is at $64,000, more than three times where he sold. He missed it because he followed a rule built for a different market.

That story has been repeated across every crypto bull cycle since 2017. And the reason it keeps repeating is not that traders are slow learners. It is that the RSI rulebook was written in 1978 for a market that closes at four o'clock, runs five days a week, and has nothing in common with 24/7 crypto.

The indicator is not broken. The calibration is.

This book is the fix.

Overbought: Why RSI Lies to Crypto Traders — and How to Fix It is dedicated to applying RSI correctly in cryptocurrency markets. Not adapted from stock market theory. Not padded with generic oscillator basics. Built from the ground up for the markets you actually trade.

What you will learn:

  • Why the standard 70/30 thresholds produce losing signals in crypto — and the exact adjustments that work instead
  • How the 24/7 compression effect distorts every timeframe below the daily chart
  • The four-phase Bitcoin cycle and how RSI behaves differently in each phase
  • How to read cycle tops and bottoms with weekly RSI and divergence — traced through every Bitcoin cycle since 2015
  • Bitcoin dominance as the master filter — why trading altcoins without it is trading blind
  • How to calibrate RSI by asset tier: different settings for Bitcoin, Ethereum, mid-caps, and small-caps
  • How to combine RSI with on-chain data — the confluence signals that no stock trader has access to
  • A complete position-sizing formula that scales exposure to signal quality
  • The regime-first framework: identify the market before you read the indicator

The book includes twelve chapters, twenty-two full-color original charts and diagrams, and six documented case studies drawn from the 2017–2026 market history — including trades that worked and one that did not. Color makes price action, RSI levels, regime zones, and signal markers immediately readable.

This is not a book about whether RSI works in crypto. It does — when it is calibrated correctly. This book shows you exactly how to calibrate it.

For active crypto traders with existing RSI knowledge who want a framework that matches the market they are actually trading.

Look inside

A few pages from the paperback. Select a page to see it full size.

  • The contents
  • The opening of Chapter 1
  • RSI thresholds that shift with the market regime
  • The four phases of a Bitcoin cycle

Who it's for

Active crypto traders who already know RSI and want a framework built for the market they actually trade.

Where to go next

PaperbackKindle