MFI: an RSI with a wallet – Indicators step by step

In this lesson

compute MFI from the money flowing into and out of the market
compare MFI with RSI on the same chart
switch on MFI on Binance and find out why there are three lines right away

The RSI looks only at how much the price rose or fell. A day when a few bitcoin were traded weighs as much as a day when a hundred thousand were. MFI fixes that: it is an RSI that got itself a wallet and counts money. Professor Wick compares it to a waterworks – it watches how much water flows in and how much flows out.

MFI is like RSI, but it counts money: price times volume.

How it is computed#

Typical price of a candle = (high + low + close) / 3.
Money flow = typical price × volume.
Is the typical price higher than the previous candle's? The money flow is positive (inflow). Lower? Negative (outflow).
Over the last 14 candles, add up the inflows and the outflows separately. Ratio = inflows / outflows.
MFI = 100 − 100 / (1 + ratio).

If 6 units of money flowed in and 1 flowed out over 14 days, the ratio is 6 and MFI = 100 − 100 / 7 ≈ 86. If money only flowed in, MFI is 100.

As with RSI, the 80 and 20 lines mark zones where the inflow or outflow is unusually strong. See how the period shakes them:

Period of MFI14

3 · common default: 14 · 40

The line entered the overbought or oversold zone 14×. The common default setting – try moving the slider both ways.

Data: Binance Vision · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

MFI vs. RSI#

RSI 14 (panel below the chart, lines at 30 and 70)
MFI 14 (panel below the chart, lines at 20 and 80)

MFI and RSI mostly draw a similar curve. They part ways on days with unusually heavy trading – like 5 Aug 2024.BTC/USDT · 1D · Data: Binance Vision · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Most of the time the two lines go hand in hand. You see the difference when a huge volume is traded:

On 5 August 2024 the price fell to 54,019 on the highest volume of the whole period. RSI dropped to 26.7, but MFI all the way to 11.5 – the giant outflow of money pulled it much lower.
On 13 March 2024, right at the high of the time, MFI was 82.4 and RSI 78.7.

Over the 15 months in the chart, MFI was above 80 on 53 days and below 20 on only two. In a rising market the "overbought" zones last a long time – just as with RSI.

MFI on Binance#

In Original mode: the indicator icon, the Sub Indicator tab, tick MFI and Save. Binance draws three lines right away: MFI(7), MFI(14) and MFI(21) – fast, medium and slow. If you want a cleaner chart, switch two of them off in the settings. The charts in this course use MFI 14.

Video (20 s): MFI ticked in the Sub Indicator tab – Binance draws three lines, MFI(7), MFI(14) and MFI(21) (Binance, 9 Oct 2026).

One exchange's volume, one exchange's money flow

MFI stands on volume – and the volume on Binance is only Binance's volume. A zero-fee promotion or one big trader can move the numbers without the whole market changing. MFI is a view of one exchange, not of all the money in bitcoin.

Common myths#

"MFI above 80 = sell." In a strong rise it stays above 80 for weeks – like RSI.
"MFI measures money that came into bitcoin from outside." It measures the typical price times the volume of trades on one exchange. Every purchase has a sale on the other side.
"Three MFI lines give three signals." It is the same calculation with different periods. Pick one.

Summary

MFI = RSI of money flows: typical price × volume, inflows against outflows over 14 candles.
MFI = 100 − 100 / (1 + inflows / outflows); the 80 and 20 lines mark strong inflow and outflow.
It parts ways with RSI on days of giant volume: on 5 Aug 2024 MFI was 11.5, RSI 26.7.
On Binance, MFI draws three lines – 7, 14 and 21.