Fear & Greed Index
A sentiment gauge that scores the market's mood from extreme fear at zero to extreme greed at 100.
The crypto version, run by Alternative.me, blends inputs like volatility, trading volume, social chatter and Bitcoin dominance into a single 0-to-100 score. Low readings mean fear; high readings mean greed.
It's used as a contrarian tool. The idea, borrowed from Warren Buffett, is to be greedy when others are fearful. Extreme fear has often marked good entry points, and extreme greed has flagged frothy tops. But it lags price and can sit pinned at one extreme for a long stretch, so it's a mood reading, not a trade signal.
Related terms
A measure of how sharply and how often a price swings, in either direction, over time.
Bitcoin DominanceBitcoin's share of the total crypto market capitalization, used to gauge where money is rotating.
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)The urge to buy an asset because its price is climbing fast and you dread missing the gains.
FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt)Negative or alarming information spread about a coin or project, sometimes accurate, often deployed to shake out holders.