The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is a daily sentiment score for Bitcoin, published by Alternative.me, that runs from 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed). It blends price volatility, momentum and volume, social media activity, Bitcoin dominance and Google search trends. On 21 October 2026 it read 63, classed as Greed.
How is the Crypto Fear & Greed Index calculated?
Alternative.me combines six inputs with fixed weights into one number each day. The index covers Bitcoin only, and its public API returns daily values back to 1 February 2018.
| Input | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Volatility | 25% | Current volatility and maximum drawdowns compared with 30- and 90-day averages; unusually high volatility reads as fear. |
| Market momentum and volume | 25% | Current volume and momentum compared with recent averages; heavy buying in a rising market reads as greed. |
| Social media | 15% | Posts on Bitcoin hashtags and how quickly they gather interactions; unusually high interaction reads as greed. |
| Surveys | 15% | Weekly crypto polls. Alternative.me lists this input as currently paused. |
| Bitcoin dominance | 10% | Bitcoin's share of total crypto market value; rising dominance reads as fear, as money retreats from riskier altcoins. |
| Search trends | 10% | Google Trends data for Bitcoin-related searches; Alternative.me cites a jump in searches for "bitcoin price manipulation" as a fear signal. |
Because the weighting and data processing are proprietary, you cannot recompute the score yourself. CNN publishes a separate Fear & Greed Index for US stocks with different inputs, so the two numbers are not comparable.
What do Fear & Greed Index scores mean?
Each daily value carries one of five labels. The table shows the score ranges used in Alternative.me's data and how often each label has appeared:
| Label | Score range | Days since Feb 2018 | Share of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Fear | 0–25 | 739 | 23% |
| Fear | 26–46 | 909 | 29% |
| Neutral | 47–54 | 403 | 13% |
| Greed | 55–75 | 848 | 27% |
| Extreme Greed | 76–100 | 282 | 9% |
Fear of some kind has been the most common state: just over half of all days since 2018 were labelled Fear or Extreme Fear. Extreme Greed is the rarest label, appearing on about one day in eleven.
What did the index read at major market turning points?
| Date | Event | Index (label) | Bitcoin close |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Mar 2020 | COVID-19 market crash | 10 (Extreme Fear) | $5,628 |
| 8 Nov 2021 | 2021 cycle high (daily close) | 75 (Greed) | $67,542 |
| 18 Jun 2022 | Crypto lender failures; Bitcoin below $20,000 | 6 (Extreme Fear) | $19,014 |
| 13 Mar 2024 | Record close before the fourth halving | 81 (Extreme Greed) | $73,082 |
| 6 Oct 2025 | 2025 cycle high (daily close) | 71 (Greed) | $124,824 |
| 11 Oct 2025 | Day after record leveraged liquidations | 27 (Fear) | $110,940 |
| 5 Feb 2026 | One-day fall of about 13% | 12 (Extreme Fear) | $63,495 |
| 30 Jun 2026 | Lowest close of the 2025–26 decline so far | 15 (Extreme Fear) | $58,525 |
Extreme Fear readings lined up well with painful lows such as March 2020 and June 2022. Tops were less clear: the 2021 and 2025 cycle highs registered only Greed (75 and 71), not Extreme Greed, while the index hit 88 on 14 March 2024, more than 18 months before that cycle peaked. Read alongside our guide to market cycle sentiment and phases, the pattern is that sentiment tends to confirm a phase after it has begun rather than announce it in advance.
Is buying during Extreme Fear a good strategy?
The index is often used to apply Warren Buffett's advice, from his 1986 shareholder letter, to be "fearful when others are greedy" and greedy when others are fearful. We tested that idea against Bitcoin's history by measuring returns after every daily reading:
| Label on day of purchase | Days | Median 90-day return | Positive after 90 days | Median 1-year return | Positive after 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Fear | 736 | −3.8% | 46% | +34.9% | 61% |
| Fear | 884 | +3.2% | 52% | +45.8% | 69% |
| Neutral | 399 | +7.1% | 60% | +98.6% | 72% |
| Greed | 790 | +4.7% | 58% | +41.1% | 61% |
| Extreme Greed | 281 | +10.1% | 60% | +16.0% | 63% |
| All days | 3,090 | +3.2% | 54% | +42.0% | 65% |
In this sample, buying on Extreme Fear days did worse than buying on an average day over both 90 days and one year. Extreme readings in either direction were followed by weaker one-year returns than Neutral readings. Bitcoin's long-run rise did most of the work, which suggests that steady participation mattered more than reacting to sentiment extremes.
How should investors use the Fear & Greed Index?
- As a check on your own emotions. If the index reads Extreme Greed and you feel an urge to buy more, that is a cue to slow down; the guide to avoiding FOMO and panic selling covers practical rules.
- Alongside other data. Combine it with valuation and leverage measures from other crypto market indicators, such as MVRV and futures funding rates, rather than acting on sentiment alone.
- With a plan made in advance. A fixed schedule such as dollar-cost averaging buys more units when prices are low without relying on a sentiment signal.
What are the limitations of the Fear & Greed Index?
- Bitcoin only. It does not measure sentiment for altcoins, stablecoins or tokenized assets directly.
- Opaque and changing inputs. The weights are published but the calculations are not, and the survey input is paused.
- Noisy social data. Engagement metrics can be inflated by bots and coordinated campaigns; our article on how social sentiment moves crypto explains why.
- Daily snapshots. One value a day can miss fast moves, as on 10 October 2025, when the index read 64 (Greed) just before more than $19 billion of leveraged positions were liquidated in 24 hours (CoinDesk Research).
Frequently Asked Questions
What Fear and Greed Index score is a good time to buy crypto?
There isn't one reliable level. In a Wealtii analysis of daily readings since February 2018, Bitcoin's median 90-day return after Extreme Fear days was −3.8%, against +3.2% across all days (Coin Metrics prices). The index describes market mood; on its own it has not been a dependable buy signal.
How often is the Crypto Fear and Greed Index updated?
Alternative.me publishes one value per day, so the index can lag fast moves. On 10 October 2025, the day a record liquidation cascade began, it read 64 (Greed); the next day it read 27 (Fear).
What is the lowest the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has been?
The lowest reading is 5, recorded on 22 August 2019 and on 12 and 23 February 2026. The highest is 95, reached on 26 June 2019 and on several days between December 2020 and February 2021 (Alternative.me API data).
Does the Crypto Fear and Greed Index cover altcoins?
No. Alternative.me calculates its index for Bitcoin only and says separate indices for large altcoins are planned. Altcoin sentiment usually moves with Bitcoin's, but not always, so the score is a rough guide for the wider market at best.
Sources & References
- Alternative.me — Crypto Fear & Greed Index (methodology and current value) (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
- Alternative.me — Crypto API documentation (historical index data, /fng/ endpoint) (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
- Coin Metrics — Community network data (BTC daily reference price) (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
- CoinDesk Research — Market Spotlight: Inside Crypto’s $19 Billion Liquidation Event (17 Oct 2025) (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Digital assets are volatile and you can lose all of the money you invest. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Wealtii is not registered with or authorised by any financial regulator.
