Fear and Greed Index
By Menno — 13 years in crypto, 3 bear markets survived, zero paid promotions
Last updated: March 2026
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index measures market sentiment on a scale of 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed), helping investors gauge whether the market is overheated or undervalued.
The Fear and Greed Index is a composite indicator that combines multiple data sources to produce a single number between 0 and 100 representing overall market sentiment.
0-24 = Extreme Fear: investors are very worried, which historically has been a good buying opportunity. 25-49 = Fear: the market is nervous but not panicking. 50-74 = Greed: optimism is rising, prices tend to be higher. 75-100 = Extreme Greed: the market is euphoric, which historically signals a correction is near.
The index typically factors in: volatility (comparing current vs 30/90-day averages), market momentum and volume, social media sentiment, Bitcoin dominance, and Google Trends data.
Smart investors use it as a contrarian indicator — buying when others are fearful and being cautious when others are greedy. Warren Buffett's famous quote applies perfectly: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful."
On Alpha Factory, the Fear and Greed Index is one of 8 indicators in the Altcoin Rules scoring system, weighted at 15% of the composite score.
Related Tools on Alpha Factory
Related Terms
Market Sentiment
Market sentiment is the overall attitude of investors toward a market or asset — ranging from extreme fear (pessimism) to extreme greed (optimism). It often drives short-term price movements more than fundamentals.
Volatility
Volatility measures how much an asset's price fluctuates over time. Crypto is significantly more volatile than traditional assets, meaning larger potential gains but also larger potential losses.
Altcoin Rules
Altcoin Rules is Alpha Factory's 8-indicator scoring system that evaluates whether conditions are favorable for buying an altcoin, combining Risk Wave, RSI, Fear & Greed, token unlocks, and more into a single composite score.
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