Crypto market sentiment has remained deeply negative, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index hovering at levels even lower than those seen during the shock collapse of FTX in late 2022. This comes despite Bitcoin trading at roughly five times its price from that period.
On Friday, the index stayed in the “extreme fear” zone for the 14th consecutive day. The gauge slipped three points to a reading of 20 out of 100 on December 26, extending a two-week stretch of extreme fear that began on December 13. This marks one of the longest periods of sustained pessimism since the index was launched in February 2018.
Market sentiment has been trending lower since early October, after renewed U.S.-China tariff concerns erased nearly $500 billion from the crypto market on October 10. Additional pressure has come from expectations that the Federal Reserve could pause interest-rate cuts in the first quarter of 2026. Jeff Mei, chief operating officer of crypto exchange BTSE, warned earlier this week that Bitcoin could fall toward $70,000 if rates remain unchanged.
Bitcoin is currently trading around $88,650, nearly 30% below its all-time high of $126,080 set on October 6, according to data from CoinGecko. Even so, sentiment readings are weaker than those recorded during the FTX collapse in November 2022, when Bitcoin plunged toward $16,000 and confidence across the industry was severely damaged.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index is calculated using factors such as market volatility, trading volume, social media sentiment, trend data, and Bitcoin dominance. Recent data suggests that retail interest has faded significantly. Analytics platform Alphractal reported that crypto-related Google searches, Wikipedia views, and online forum discussions have all declined sharply, returning to levels typically associated with bear markets.
According to Alphractal, retail investors appear discouraged and largely disengaged from crypto markets as December progresses. This view aligns with comments from Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan, who recently attributed the pullback in sentiment to “crypto-native retail” investors still reeling from past shocks such as the FTX collapse, failed memecoin rallies, and the absence of a sustained altcoin season.
Hougan noted that while crypto-native retail remains cautious, traditional retail investors continue to enter the market. He highlighted strong inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which have attracted more than $25 billion so far in 2025, even as Bitcoin remains down around 5% year to date.
