The Crypto Fear and Greed Index

The crypto Fear and Greed Index measures market sentiment on a 0–100 scale. What each band means, how it's calculated, and how traders use it as a contrarian signal.

Updated June 2026 · Reviewed by the PipeFlare team

The crypto Fear and Greed Index is a 0–100 sentiment gauge — 0 is 'extreme fear', 100 is 'extreme greed'

It gives a single-number read on crowd emotion in crypto — a signal many long-term investors use in a contrarian way

About crypto fear & greed index

The crypto Fear and Greed Index is a 0–100 sentiment gauge published daily by Alternative.me. Zero is 'extreme fear', 100 is 'extreme greed', and 50 is neutral. The index adapts CNN's stock-market Fear and Greed Index for crypto, launched in February 2018. It aggregates several inputs — market volatility, volume and momentum, social-media chatter, Bitcoin dominance, and Google Trends — into a single number, then updates every 24 hours. Live current value and history are on alternative.me's page (linked below). Many long-term investors use the index in a contrarian way: 'Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful,' as Warren Buffett put it. Extreme fear readings have historically preceded market bottoms, and extreme greed has often preceded corrections — but not always.

How it actually works

The crypto Fear and Greed Index is computed by weighting five sources: volatility (25%) compares current BTC volatility to its 30- and 90-day averages, market momentum and volume (25%) compare current volume to its 30- and 90-day averages, social media sentiment (15%) tracks post volume and hashtag mentions on X and Reddit, Bitcoin dominance (10%) rises as a fear signal (safe-haven rotation into BTC), and Google Trends data (10%) tracks search interest in Bitcoin-related terms. Surveys were also part of the mix historically but were dropped. Alternative.me computes the daily reading and publishes it via a free JSON API at api.alternative.me/fng/, which is why the same index shows up on wallet apps, dashboards, and TradingView widgets globally.

Start here

1Check the current reading at alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index/ — the number and band update every 24 hours.
2Look at where the reading sits in its recent range: is it lower than the past week? The past 30 days?
3Combine with price action — extreme fear during a sharp drawdown is a different signal than extreme fear at range support.
4Do NOT treat any single day's reading as a buy or sell signal — it is a slow, sentiment-averaging tool, not a timing indicator.

Strengths

A single, publicly published number that gives fast crowd-sentiment context — no subscription, no login, no interpretation required.
Historical archive back to February 2018 lets you compare the current reading to past cycle inflection points.
Used consistently by wallet apps, TradingView widgets, and dashboards, so it functions as a shared vocabulary in crypto discourse.

Common misunderstandings

Sentiment is not a leading indicator — the index can stay 'extremely greedy' for months during a bull run, and 'extremely fearful' for months during a bear market.
Bitcoin-centric: most of the input data is Bitcoin-specific (volatility, dominance, mentions), so it doesn't capture altcoin- or DeFi-specific sentiment well.
The methodology has changed over the years (surveys were dropped, weights adjusted), so historical comparisons are approximate rather than exact.

Common questions

What is the current crypto Fear and Greed Index reading?

The current reading is published daily at alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index/. The number ranges 0 to 100 with bands: 0–24 extreme fear, 25–44 fear, 45–55 neutral, 56–75 greed, 76–100 extreme greed. Check the source for today's live figure since it changes every 24 hours.

How is the crypto Fear and Greed Index calculated?

The crypto Fear and Greed Index weights five inputs: volatility (25%), market momentum/volume (25%), social media chatter (15%), Bitcoin dominance (10%), and Google Trends search interest (10%). Alternative.me computes it daily and publishes both the number and the band. The weights and methodology have been updated since the 2018 launch, so historical comparisons are approximate.

Is the Fear and Greed Index a good buy signal?

The Fear and Greed Index is used by many long-term investors as a contrarian tool — buying during extreme fear and taking profits during extreme greed — but it is a slow, sentiment-averaging metric, not a timing indicator. Extreme readings have preceded reversals in some past cycles and been ignored for months in others. Use it as context, not as a standalone signal.

How does the crypto index differ from the CNN Fear and Greed Index?

Alternative.me's crypto Fear and Greed Index adapted CNN's stock-market original (which launched in 2012) for crypto in February 2018. The bands and 0–100 scale are the same, but the input data differs: the stock version uses put/call ratios, stock momentum, safe-haven demand, and bond spreads, while the crypto version uses crypto-specific volatility, dominance, and social sentiment. Both are contrarian tools rather than predictive ones.

How often does the crypto Fear and Greed Index update?

The crypto Fear and Greed Index updates once every 24 hours. Alternative.me refreshes the reading at UTC midnight based on the trailing 24-hour data from each input source. This slower cadence is intentional — the index is designed for medium-term positioning, not intraday trading.

Where can I access the historical Fear and Greed data?

Alternative.me publishes the historical index back to February 2018 via a free JSON API at api.alternative.me/fng/. You can pull specific date ranges, and there is no rate limit for reasonable use. The daily chart on the main page shows the past year for free without an account.

Sources

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