Elder Force Index (EFI) on Bitcoin

What it shows

Below the bitcoin candles the Force Index line rides above or below zero: above, the smoothed push has been upward, below, downward. Its unit is dollars times coins, so a height on the hourly chart has nothing to say about one on the daily.

How Pravex works it out

1. Start from how far the close moved since the candle before, up or down, in dollars.
2. Multiply the change by the candle’s volume: force = (close − previous close) × volume.
3. Smooth the force values with an EMA over 13 candles. The EMA starts from the simple average of the first 13 values, then each new candle moves it by a weight of 2 ÷ 14.
4. One invented candle: a close that rose by 2 on a volume of 500 gives a force of +1000 for that candle, before smoothing.

Settings

Setting	Default	What changing it does
Length	13	The span of the EMA that smooths the raw force values. A shorter length follows each candle’s force closely; a longer one shows only the sustained push.

How traders read it

The zero line is the main reference. A move of the line from below zero to above it says the buying push has outweighed the selling over the last stretch of candles.

Divergence is the second use. Bitcoin prints a new high while the Force Index peaks lower than last time, so the newest high had less dollars-times-volume behind it.

A very tall spike usually belongs to one large-volume candle. Check whether it keeps going on the next candles or fades back.

When it misleads

Volume dominates the value, so one huge candle swamps everything around it and the line then decays slowly through the EMA. The 13-candle smoothing makes the line lag, so a turn shows after price has already moved. The force is also bigger when price levels are higher, so heights from different periods are not comparable. This page uses bitcoin, which trades around the clock, so there are no session gaps, but the line flattens whenever volume runs thin. Spot gold has no volume to multiply.

Questions and answers

Is the Force Index a volume tool or a momentum tool?

Both at once. Each value is the price change multiplied by the volume behind it, so a big move on thin volume and a small move on heavy volume can score the same.

Should I use a 2 or a 13 length?

Elder used both: a 2-candle EMA to time entries on short pullbacks, and 13 candles to judge the larger push. Pravex starts at 13; add a second copy at 2 if you want both views.

What does the Force Index crossing zero mean?

The smoothed push changed from net selling to net buying, or the reverse. It describes the past 13 candles or so, not what comes next.

Why are the numbers so large?

Dollars of change times coins traded multiply into long figures, and they grow when bitcoin trades higher. Only the sign and the shape of the line are worth reading.

Related: Ease of Movement, Bull Bear Power, Klinger Oscillator, every indicator.