Crypto market sentiment has sunk to its weakest level in more than three and a half years, as Bitcoin plunged toward the $60,000 mark amid a sharp risk-off move across global markets.
The widely followed Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to just 9 out of 100 on Friday, signaling “extreme fear” and marking its lowest reading since June 2022, when confidence evaporated following the collapse of the Terra blockchain. The index has remained deeply depressed for the past two weeks as selling pressure intensified.
Bitcoin has fallen roughly 38% from its 2026 peak near $97,000 in just three weeks, erasing all gains accumulated over the previous sixteen months. The world’s largest cryptocurrency briefly slid to a little over $60,000 in early Friday trading, its lowest level since October 2024, before stabilizing above $64,000. The move marked its steepest single-day decline since mid-2022, with prices shedding more than $10,000 in 24 hours.
The sell-off pushed Bitcoin below its 200-week exponential moving average, a key long-term technical indicator that historically has only been breached during deep bear markets. From its all-time high of $126,000 set in early October, Bitcoin is now down roughly 50%.
Heavy leverage unwinding added fuel to the drop. Over the past 24 hours, more than 588,000 traders were liquidated, with total losses reaching $2.7 billion. Around 85% of those liquidations were leveraged long positions, largely concentrated in Bitcoin, according to market data.
Analysts point to broader macro and equity market pressures as key drivers of the move. Ongoing weakness in U.S. technology stocks, fueled by concerns over elevated valuations and the sustainability of massive artificial intelligence investment, has weighed heavily on risk assets. At the same time, softer U.S. labor market data and rising unemployment claims have increased uncertainty around economic growth and reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve may remain cautious on interest-rate cuts.
Together, these factors have undermined Bitcoin’s appeal as a defensive asset, with investors increasingly questioning its ability to act as a safe haven during periods of market stress, especially when compared with traditional alternatives such as gold.
