What this shows
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index condenses market sentiment into one number from 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed). It is published daily by Alternative.me, which combines volatility, market momentum and volume, social media activity, Bitcoin dominance and search trends.
| Range | Zone |
|---|---|
| 0–25 | Extreme Fear |
| 26–46 | Fear |
| 47–54 | Neutral |
| 55–75 | Greed |
| 76–100 | Extreme Greed |
What we add: what happened next
A sentiment reading on its own doesn't tell you much. The table above answers a more useful question: after days in each zone, how did Bitcoin do over the next 30 and 90 days?
For every day since February 2018 we take the index zone and BTC's daily close (from Bitstamp), then measure the return over the following 30 and 90 days. The table shows the median return and how often it was positive.
How to read it:
- Compare the zones with each other, not with zero. The question is whether a zone has historically been followed by better or worse returns than average.
- Consecutive days in the same zone overlap heavily, so the samples are not independent. A few long episodes (for example the 2022 bear market) dominate some zones.
- "Buy when others are fearful" is a popular idea. Check whether this data actually supports it for the horizon you care about, because the answer changes as new history is added.
How traders use it
- As a contrarian check. Extreme readings show crowded positioning. They are a reason to look harder at your plan, not a trigger on their own.
- Together with trend and structure. Fear in an uptrend means something different from fear in a downtrend.
- Together with other indicators. For example the Altcoin Season Index, or miner economics from the Bitcoin mining cost page.
FAQ
What is the Crypto Fear & Greed Index today? The current value and zone are at the top of this page. Alternative.me updates the index once a day, and we pull it every six hours.
Is Extreme Fear a good time to buy Bitcoin? Sometimes, but not reliably. Check the "what BTC did next" table for the historical distribution, and remember that past patterns may not repeat.
Who makes the Fear & Greed Index? Alternative.me. We republish it with attribution and add our own analysis of subsequent BTC returns.
Does it cover altcoins? The index is Bitcoin-focused, but crypto sentiment is highly correlated, so it is widely used as a proxy for the whole market.
Data for information only, not financial advice.