Fear and Greed Index

The index condenses market mood into a single number, where low readings mean extreme fear and high readings mean extreme greed. The concept was popularised by CNN for the stock market. The most widely quoted crypto version focuses on bitcoin and blends inputs such as price volatility, momentum and trading volume, social media activity, bitcoin dominance and search trends.

Crypto media and traders quote it daily, and some use it as a contrarian tool, following the idea that extreme fear can mark buying opportunities and extreme greed can come before corrections. Several data providers publish their own versions with different formulas, so readings for the same day can differ.

The index measures sentiment, not value, and it can stay at extreme levels for weeks while prices keep moving in the same direction. Its inputs and weights are chosen by each publisher and can change over time. It works best as context alongside other data rather than as a trading trigger.