Crypto fear and greed index
The current value of the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, refreshed live on every page load. Below the gauge: the 30-day history showing how sentiment has shifted recently. The index is a contrarian sentiment signal popular with crypto investors who want to be greedy when others are fearful (and fearful when others are greedy).
Current index
Live Crypto Fear and Greed Index on a 0-100 scale. 0 means extreme fear (the market is panicking); 100 means extreme greed (the market is euphoric). Hover any point on the 30-day chart to see the exact date and value.
30-day history
Hover for exact daily values
What is the current Crypto Fear and Greed reading?
The latest stored reading is 64, classified as "Greed" (8 October 2026). That places sentiment optimistic, but short of the contrarian-sell threshold of Extreme Greed (75 and above). The 30-day average of 67.3 (Greed) shows where sentiment has sat over the trailing month; the 30-day range was 50 to 78.
30-day band distribution
| Band | Range | Days (last 30) | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Fear | 0-24 | 0 | Contrarian buy zone. |
| Fear | 25-49 | 0 | Cautious sentiment. |
| Neutral | 50-54 | 2 | Mixed sentiment. No directional bias. |
| Greed | 55-74 | 27 | Optimistic sentiment. The dominant band for the trailing month. |
| Extreme Greed | 75-100 | 1 | Contrarian sell zone. |
How should I use the Fear and Greed Index?
As a contrarian indicator at extremes, not a trend-following signal in the mid-range. Historically:
- Extreme Fear (below 25) has tended to show up around capitulation sell-offs, which have often been good long-term entry zones.
- Extreme Greed (75 and above) has tended to show up in euphoric rallies, which have often preceded pullbacks.
- Mid-range readings (25-75) have little contrarian information - they reflect normal market conditions and should not drive timing decisions.
The latest reading of 64 is in the "Greed" band: optimistic, but short of the contrarian-sell threshold of Extreme Greed (75 and above).
What is the Fear and Greed Index?
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index aggregates several market sentiment signals into a single 0-100 score. The methodology is adapted from the long-running US stock market Fear and Greed Index produced by CNN, with components adjusted for the specifics of crypto markets.
The five active components and their weights (note: the survey component is currently paused):
- Market volatility (25 percent). Compares current Bitcoin volatility against 30-day and 90-day averages. High volatility skews the index toward fear; low volatility toward greed.
- Market momentum and volume (25 percent). Compares current trading volume against 30-day and 90-day averages. High volume during rallies skews toward greed; low volume or selling volume toward fear.
- Social media (15 percent). Analyses Twitter sentiment for crypto-related hashtags. High positive engagement skews toward greed.
- Bitcoin dominance (10 percent). Bitcoin's share of total crypto market cap. Rising dominance (capital flowing to BTC during fear) skews toward fear; falling dominance (capital rotating to altcoins during greed) skews toward greed.
- Google Trends (10 percent). Search volume for crypto-related terms. High search volume during rallies skews toward greed.
The weighted average produces the final 0-100 score. The score is then classified into five bands: 0-24 extreme fear, 25-49 fear, 50-54 neutral, 55-74 greed, 75-100 extreme greed.
How the index is computed
Each component is normalised to a 0-100 scale before weighting. The normalisation typically uses a rolling comparison: today's component value is expressed as a percentile relative to the 30-day or 90-day history. For example, if today's volatility is in the top 5 percent of the recent window (very high), the volatility component scores near 0 (fear). If volatility is in the bottom 5 percent (very low), the component scores near 100 (greed).
The weights are fixed at the proportions listed above and have been published continuously since February 2018 when the index launched.
The output value is rounded to an integer and classified into one of the five bands. The classification thresholds occasionally shift; the current band cutoffs are used by the embed on this page.
Using the index contrarian-style
The classic contrarian framework treats extreme readings as countersignals. The mechanics:
- Extreme fear (under 25): the market is panicking, prices have usually fallen sharply, sentiment is at a multi-month low. Historically a favourable buying regime, though not a precise entry signal (extreme fear can persist for weeks).
- Extreme greed (over 75): the market is euphoric, prices have usually rallied sharply, sentiment is at a multi-month high. Historically a favourable distribution regime for profit-taking.
- Neutral (50-54): the index carries little contrarian signal. Other tools (log regression, risk metric) provide more context.
A simple rule that buys on each move into extreme fear and sells on each move into extreme greed would trade several times a cycle and whipsaw when extremes persist; we have not backtested it here. The framework is most useful as a confirmation signal alongside longer-horizon metrics like the SatoshiMacro Bitcoin Risk Metric and Bitcoin Logarithmic Regression Bands, rather than as a standalone trading system.
Australian-resident context
The index reflects global crypto sentiment, not Australian-specific sentiment. Most of the components (Twitter, Google Trends, volume, volatility) are global aggregates rather than AU-specific subsets. For Australian-resident investors this is usually fine because AU crypto markets closely track global trends.
AU-specific factors not captured by the global index include:
- ASIC regulatory announcements affecting AUSTRAC-registered exchanges
- ATO tax guidance changes affecting CGT treatment
- Australian banking decisions on relationships with crypto exchanges (e.g., debanking events)
- RBA monetary policy effects on AUD/USD that compound with crypto moves
- AU EOFY (30 June) tax-loss harvesting flows that briefly affect crypto prices in late June
For these AU-specific contexts, supplement the global Fear and Greed Index with AU regulatory news monitoring. The index is one input among many.
Related tools
- Bitcoin Risk Metric (AUD) - 0-1 cycle positioning score from log regression. Complements Fear and Greed: the risk metric is multi-year structural, Fear and Greed is short-term sentiment.
- Bitcoin Logarithmic Regression Bands (AUD) - the long-run fair-value chart that drives the risk metric.
- Bitcoin Monthly Returns Heatmap (AUD) - historical month-by-month returns.
- Crypto CGT Calculator - apply the ATO 50 percent discount to a specific disposal. Use after Fear-and-Greed-informed exit timing.
Frequently asked questions
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is a 0-100 sentiment indicator that aggregates several market metrics into a single score representing overall investor mood. 0 means extreme fear (the market is panicking, prices are falling), 100 means extreme greed (the market is euphoric, prices are rallying). The index uses a methodology adapted from the equivalent US-stock-market Fear and Greed Index produced by CNN. It has become a widely-referenced sentiment signal in the crypto investor community.
The index is a weighted blend of six components: market volatility (25 percent weight), market momentum and volume (25 percent), social media activity on Twitter for major coins (15 percent), surveys (15 percent, currently paused), Bitcoin dominance (10 percent), and Google Trends search volume for crypto-related terms (10 percent). Each component is normalised to a 0-100 scale and the weighted average produces the final index. The index is published by Alternative.me, and its daily history runs from February 2018.
The classic contrarian framework treats extreme fear (under 25) as a potential buying signal and extreme greed (over 75) as a potential selling signal. The logic is that markets are most often wrong at the extremes: when sentiment is panicking, prices have usually overshot to the downside, and vice versa. Warren Buffett's 'be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful' line is the philosophical origin. We have not backtested that rule on this page; extreme readings can persist for weeks, so treat it as a framing device rather than a mechanical system.
As a directional signal, it is most useful at extremes. Very low readings have tended to come during sharp sell-offs and very high readings during euphoric rallies, but extremes can last for weeks and do not mark the exact turning day. This page stores only the last 30 days of readings, so it does not reproduce the full-history extremes. Mid-range readings (30-70) carry less signal because they represent normal market conditions. The index is more useful as a contrarian risk-on/risk-off filter than as a precise market timing tool.
Alternative.me publishes the index daily, typically around 00:00 UTC. The value on this page is fetched live from its API on every page load, with a stored 30-day copy (refreshed automatically every day) as the fallback. The SatoshiMacro embed adds the AUD-resident context, contrarian-framework explanation, and integrates with the broader SatoshiMacro analytics suite (Bitcoin log regression, risk metric, monthly returns heatmap).
Yes, with one minor caveat. The underlying sentiment data (Twitter, Google Trends, surveys) is global rather than AU-specific, so the index reflects worldwide crypto sentiment rather than Australian-specific sentiment. For Australian-resident investors this is usually fine because the AU crypto market closely tracks global trends. The AU-specific factors that don't show up in the index include ASIC regulatory announcements, ATO tax guidance changes, and Australian banking decisions on crypto exchange relationships. Use the index for global crypto sentiment context; supplement with AU-specific news for Australian regulatory and tax timing.
The index has printed single-digit readings in its deepest sell-offs, including during the 2022 bear market. This page keeps only the last 30 days of data (the low in that window was 50 on 17 September 2026), so for exact all-time extremes check Alternative.me's full history. Past extreme-fear episodes have often been followed by recoveries over the following months, though the timing and magnitude varied.
The index has printed readings in the 90s during the strongest bull-market rallies. This page keeps only the last 30 days of data (the high in that window was 78 on 22 September 2026), so for exact all-time extremes check Alternative.me's full history. High-90s readings have often come shortly before sizeable pullbacks, though not at precise tops.
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