Crypto Fear & Greed Index
Track the live Crypto Fear & Greed Index (0–100) — updated daily. Understand what Extreme Fear, Fear, Greed and Extreme Greed signal for Bitcoin and the wider crypto market.
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For educational and informational purposes only — not financial, investment or tax advice. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter.
Conceptual diagram
What the Crypto Fear & Greed Index Shows
Markets are driven by emotion as much as fundamentals. When prices rise, optimism becomes greed — investors pile in, buy at any price, and dismiss risk. When prices fall, fear takes over — holders panic, sell at losses, and avoid the asset entirely. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index attempts to quantify this emotional state for the Bitcoin (and by extension crypto) market in a single number from 0 to 100.
- 0–24: Extreme Fear — Market participants are highly anxious. Historically associated with capitulation and potential buying opportunities.
- 25–49: Fear — Cautious sentiment. Sellers are in control but panic is not widespread.
- 50: Neutral — Market sentiment is balanced. Neither greed nor fear dominates.
- 51–74: Greed — Optimism is elevated. Buyers are in control and risk appetite is high.
- 75–100: Extreme Greed — Euphoria. Market conditions that historically precede corrections.
The index does not predict price direction. It describes where collective sentiment sits right now — a snapshot of mood, not a forecast.
How the Index Is Calculated
The most widely referenced Crypto Fear & Greed Index (published by Alternative.me) aggregates six data sources, each weighted differently:
Index component weights
Weights are as defined by Alternative.me. The survey component has been paused; weighting has been redistributed. Methodology details at alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index.
Breaking Down Each Component
Volatility (25%): High, sudden volatility usually signals fear — markets are uncertain and prices are swinging wildly. The component measures current 30-day and 90-day BTC price volatility and compares it to historical averages.
Market Momentum & Volume (25%): When volume is high on up days and the market is gaining relative to 30- and 90-day averages, that signals greed — buyers are confident. When volume dries up on rallies but surges on drops, that signals fear.
Social Media (15%): The ratio of positive to negative mentions of Bitcoin on Twitter and Reddit is tracked. A spike in positive engagement (“bull season”) scores toward greed. Unusually low engagement often correlates with fear and disinterest.
Bitcoin Dominance (10%): When BTC dominance rises, capital is flowing into Bitcoin and away from altcoins — sometimes a sign of risk-off behaviour (fear) or simply Bitcoin-specific optimism. When altcoins gain share, greed is often more broadly distributed across the market.
Google Trends (10%): Search volume for terms like “Bitcoin” and “crypto crash” are tracked. A spike in “crypto crash” searches signals fear; a spike in “buy Bitcoin” or “Bitcoin price” signals growing retail interest.
Reading the Index: A Calibrated Approach
The index is most useful as a contrarian signal at extremes, not as a day-trading trigger. The principle, articulated by Warren Buffett for equities and adapted to crypto, is: be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.
| Index range | Historical BTC context | Contrarian interpretation | Caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 Extreme Fear | Nov 2022 (FTX collapse), Mar 2020 (COVID crash) | Potential accumulation zone; maximum pessimism | Fear can persist or worsen; not a precise entry signal |
| 10–25 Fear | Post-drawdown periods, bear market plateaus | Sellers exhausting; near-term reversal possible | Macro headwinds can extend bearish periods |
| 45–55 Neutral | Sideways consolidation; post-crash stabilisation | No strong signal; watch for direction confirmation | Neutral readings tell you little on their own |
| 75–90 Greed | Mid-bull rallies; ETF launch excitement (Jan 2024) | Elevated risk of correction; consider reducing exposure | Strong bull markets can stay in greed for months |
| 90–100 Extreme Greed | Late-2021 peak; late-2017 peak; early 2021 | Maximum euphoria; historically precedes major corrections | “Extreme greed” can persist for weeks at cycle tops |
Historical Readings at Key Market Events
Fear & Greed index at notable BTC price moments
~8 — Extreme Fear (COVID crash, BTC $3,800)
~93 — Extreme Greed (BTC $24K breakout)
~84 — Greed (BTC ATH ~$69K)
~6 — Extreme Fear (LUNA collapse, BTC $18K)
~4 — Extreme Fear (FTX collapse, BTC $16K)
~76 — Greed (US spot BTC ETF launch)
~90 — Extreme Greed (BTC ATH ~$73K)
In Practice: How a Trader Uses the Index
Scenario: Risk-managed DCA into an extreme fear reading
A trader who uses a rules-based approach to Bitcoin accumulation checks the Fear & Greed index as part of her weekly review in November 2022. The index reads 7 — Extreme Fear. FTX collapsed two weeks earlier, BTC has fallen to $16,500, and social media is dominated by narratives of permanent crypto death.
Her process:
- She notes the Fear & Greed reading and flags it as a “maximum pessimism zone” consistent with prior capitulation bottoms (2018: ~$3,200; 2020: ~$3,800).
- She checks: is the fear driven by a structural breakdown (e.g., Bitcoin protocol failure) or an external event (exchange collapse)? She concludes: FTX is counterparty risk, not a Bitcoin-specific flaw. Protocol fundamentals are intact.
- She increases her DCA contribution for the month by 50%, buying into the fear rather than pausing.
- She sets a hard rule: if the index stays below 15 for more than 30 days, she adds another tranche; if it spikes above 75 within 12 months, she considers reducing position.
Finding: “Fear readings below 10 have historically occurred within 10–20% of a cycle low. The index alone is not a buy signal, but combined with a fundamental check (intact protocol, still liquid exchanges), it supports increasing, not pausing, a long-term accumulation plan.”
What the Index Cannot Tell You
The Fear & Greed Index is a sentiment aggregator, not a market model. It has important limitations that matter for anyone using it analytically:
| Limitation | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin-centric | The index largely reflects BTC sentiment. Altcoins can be in extreme fear while BTC is in greed, or vice versa. |
| No timing precision | A reading of “extreme greed” can persist for 30–60 days before a correction. You cannot short the index. |
| Backward-looking inputs | Volatility and volume data are from the recent past. The index cannot price in an upcoming event risk (regulation announcement, exchange hack). |
| Self-referential risk | If many traders act on extreme readings, contrarian trades become crowded. The edge of a contrarian signal erodes when it becomes mainstream. |
| Social media noise | The social component can be distorted by coordinated campaigns, bot activity, or meme-driven spikes unrelated to real market conviction. |
Combining the Index with Other Signals
The index is most useful as one input in a broader analytical framework, not as a standalone decision driver:
- With on-chain data: Extreme fear + high unrealised loss percentages among long-term holders = historically strong contrarian buy signal.
- With funding rates: Extreme greed + perpetual futures funding rate above 0.1%/8h = elevated long-squeeze risk; consider hedging.
- With macro conditions: Extreme fear in a rising-rate environment is less contrarian than in a rate-cutting cycle. Macro overlay matters.
- With the halving cycle: Fear readings at the same stage of different halving cycles produce different outcomes because the market structure is different each time.
Common Questions
Is 50 a neutral reading or a transition point?
A reading of 50 simply means the aggregated inputs are balanced — no dominant emotional signal. It does not predict whether the next move is up or down. It is the least actionable point on the scale.
Does the index work for altcoins?
The index is calibrated on Bitcoin data. As a rough proxy for overall crypto sentiment it has some utility — in broad bull and bear markets, altcoins tend to move with BTC. But for specific altcoin trades, sector-specific indicators (DEX volume, TVL trends, token unlock schedules) are more relevant.
Where does the live data come from?
The index displayed here references Alternative.me’s publicly available API, which updates daily. The underlying data sources include CoinMarketCap, Twitter/X, Reddit, and Google Trends data feeds.
Has the index ever been wrong?
Frequently in the short run. Extreme greed in December 2020 continued to rise further before any correction. Extreme fear in mid-2018 continued to fall for another six months. The index identifies emotional extremes — it does not pinpoint reversals.
Related Tools
Use the Profit/Loss Calculator to model returns if you buy during fear readings, or the DCA Calculator to simulate a rules-based accumulation strategy triggered by index thresholds. The Bitcoin Halving Countdown provides context on where we are in the supply cycle, which influences how fear and greed readings should be interpreted.