Two numbers sum up the crypto market on most days: the price of Bitcoin, and how people feel about it. The gauge above is the second one. The crypto fear and greed index boils market mood down to a single score from 0 to 100, where 0 is extreme fear and 100 is extreme greed, and it updates once a day.
The data comes from Alternative.me, which created this index in 2018 and still publishes it. This page shows today's reading and the last 30 days, and explains how the number is built and where it misleads.
What the crypto fear and greed index measures
The index tries to answer one question: is the market acting scared or excited right now? Low scores show up after sharp drops, when prices are swinging hard and people are selling. High scores show up during strong rallies, when buying is driven more by momentum than by any change in fundamentals. Roughly speaking, the bottom quarter of the scale reads as extreme fear, the top quarter as extreme greed, and the middle as neutral.
It's mostly a Bitcoin index. Most of its inputs are based on Bitcoin's price and trading, which is why it's often called the bitcoin fear and greed index, and why it can lag when altcoins and Bitcoin move in different directions.
How is the fear and greed index calculated?
Alternative.me blends several inputs, each weighted, into the final score. Volatility makes up about a quarter: unusually large price swings compared with recent averages push the score toward fear. Market momentum and trading volume make up another quarter, with heavy buying in a rising market pushing toward greed. Social media activity counts for about 15%, measured by how much people are posting about Bitcoin and how fast. Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market counts for about 10%, on the logic that money retreats into Bitcoin when people are nervous. Google search trends for Bitcoin-related terms make up the last 10%.
There was also a survey component, worth about 15%, but Alternative.me paused it years ago. That matters, because it means the index is built almost entirely from market and online behavior, not from asking anyone how they feel.
Crypto vs CNN fear and greed index
If you searched "fear and greed index" and expected stocks, you were probably looking for CNN's version. It's a separate index for the US stock market, built from seven indicators including the S&P 500's momentum, the VIX volatility index, demand for junk bonds versus safe assets (which sounds more exciting than it is), and the ratio of put to call options. The two indexes share a name and a 0 to 100 scale and nothing else.
They often disagree. Stocks can sit in greed while crypto is in fear, or the reverse, because the two markets don't always move together. Other crypto sites publish their own versions as well: CoinMarketCap and CoinGlass both have one, built from slightly different inputs. If those disagree with the reading above by a few points, that's normal. A gap of twenty points is worth a closer look.
Reading extreme fear and extreme greed
The usual way to use the index is as a contrarian signal, the idea Warren Buffett is often quoted on: be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Some of the best buying opportunities in crypto have come when the index sat in extreme fear. It dropped into single digits in mid-2022, after the collapse of Terra and the lenders that went down with it, and that period turned out to be close to the bottom of that cycle.
The catch is timing. Extreme fear can last for weeks, and prices can keep falling the whole time. Extreme greed can last for months in a strong bull market; the index spent long stretches in the 90s during 2021, and anyone who sold the first time it crossed 80 missed much of the rally. I'd treat a reading at either extreme as a reason to slow down and check my own reasoning, not as a reason to act.
Greed peaks also tend to be when the riskiest corners of the market light up. When the index is deep in greed, meme crypto tends to be leading the move, and small coins become easy targets for a crypto pump and dump. Neither is a coincidence.
Fear and greed index history
The chart above shows the last 30 days. Alternative.me's own site has the full fear and greed index history going back to February 2018, which is the place to look for longer patterns.
A few patterns show up again and again. Fear tends to arrive suddenly and leave slowly. Greed builds gradually and can hold for a long time. Annoyingly long, sometimes. And the index rarely stays neutral for long; the middle of the scale is more of a crossing point than a resting place.
The idea of measuring market fear with a single number is older than crypto. The VIX, often called Wall Street's fear gauge, launched in 1993 and tracks how much volatility options traders expect in the S&P 500. Crypto's version took that idea, added social media and search data, and pointed it at Bitcoin.
Using the index with the rest of this site
On its own, the score tells you how the market feels. Put it next to the crypto bubble map on the home page and you can see what the market is doing: whether everything is moving together or just a few coins are driving the mood. In extreme fear, it's also worth watching the bitcoin whale tracker for large transfers onto exchanges, which sometimes come before the next leg down, and sometimes come to nothing.
For anyone buying regularly rather than trying to time the market, the dollar cost average formula shows why steady buying through fearful periods has tended to work out better than waiting for the perfect moment.
Questions about the fear and greed index
Is the fear and greed index a good indicator?
It depends on what you use it for. As a quick read of market mood, it's useful and easy to check. As a trading signal on its own, it's weak, because extremes can last far longer than anyone expects. Most traders who use it treat it as one input among several, never the only one.
What does extreme fear mean in crypto?
It means the inputs behind the index (volatility, selling volume, social media mood and the rest) are all pointing the same way: people are scared and acting like it. It usually follows a sharp price drop. It doesn't tell you the drop is over.
How often is the index updated?
Once a day. Alternative.me publishes a new value daily, and this page shows it shortly after. Intraday swings in price won't show up until the next update.
Why is CoinMarketCap's fear and greed reading different?
Because it's a different index. CoinMarketCap builds its own score from its own data, across more coins than just Bitcoin, so the two often differ by a few points. Neither one is wrong; they're measuring slightly different things.
Disclaimer
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index on this page is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Index values are sourced from the third-party alternative.me API and may be delayed or subject to inaccuracies. A sentiment reading is not a trading signal and should never be the sole basis for a decision. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and involve substantial risk of loss. Always conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Blockchain Bubbles is not responsible for any losses incurred from use of this tool.