Home / Investing / Fear and greed index expands to crypto

Fear and greed index expands to crypto

Investing

The Fear and Greed Index is a tool that investors in traditional sharemarkets have used for decades to measure the current sentiment of the market. It has only recently been applied to crypto markets, which seem more sentiment-driven than any.

The index looks at cryptocurrency markets and assesses whether they are becoming overly fearful or overly greedy. Hence why it is called the Fear and Greed Index.

  • When overly fearful, it generally means Bitcoin is cheap/undervalued at that time and could present a good buying opportunity.
  • When overly greedy, it may indicate the price of Bitcoin is too high above its intrinsic value and hence sell.

How does it work?

  • The Fear and Greed Index is a simple chart that scales from 0 to 100 and is colour-coded accordingly where 0 is red and 100 is green.

    • Red and zero signal extreme fear and could indicate that many Bitcoin ($BTC) investors are too concerned about the price dropping further.
    • Green and 100 signal extreme greed and could indicate that many investors of Bitcoin ($BTC) are too excited about the price of Bitcoin rising a lot further in the future.

    The value of 100 has the opposite meaning: investors are getting extremely greedy. There may be some FOMO buying.

    When overlaid on top of the Bitcoin price chart, it allows an investor to see not only the current score but also to see how the score has changed with price over time. It adds a new dimension to the index, by showing how Bitcoin interacts with fear and greed over time. Behaviours such as  “FOMO buying” or “panic selling” are more easily visible than other investment markets.

    At the moment only Bitcoin is included in the index but it is a great tool to measure investors’ fear and greed in the crypto market. But the index is only a tool that tracks sentiment in the market. When using it as an indicator for buying and selling, you should do so using other factors as well.




    Print Article

    Related
    Securing your family’s future using the financial muscle of education bonds

    Many retirees choose to financially assist in their grandchildren’s education, primary, secondary and tertiary, leaving a powerful legacy that will benefit future generations.

    Staff Writer | 7th May 2024 | More
    Rising rates and retirement: The biggest investment stories from 2023

    At the close of another tumultuous year for markets, our most-read stories show readers were interested in the effects of higher interest rates, as capital protection and income security gained importance amid cost-of-living concerns.

    Lisa Uhlman | 20th Dec 2023 | More
    Weak October markets show mounting pressures weighing on sentiment

    The ASX 200 fell 3.8 per cent over the month, the biggest fall this year, as investors sought to understand the impact of war, economic factors and other concerns on markets at home and abroad, according to Selfwealth.

    Lisa Uhlman | 15th Nov 2023 | More
    Popular