Methodology: Crypto fear and greed index
Version 2
What the indicator shows
Sentiment in the crypto market on a 0 to 100 scale: the lower the value, the stronger the fear; the higher, the stronger the greed.
- What it is measured on
- About 300 crypto assets; volatility is measured on the 50 largest, and the derivatives components on bitcoin and ether
- Updates
- Every half hour; the daily figure is fixed once the day ends
Components
| Component | What it measures | How it is mapped to the 0–100 scale | Direction | Weight, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market momentum | The share of coins trading above their 50-day moving average | A linear scale: a value of 0 gives 0 and a value of 1 gives 100; beyond those limits the score stays at the end of the scale. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards greed | 15.0 |
| Volatility | 30-day volatility against its annual level, the median across the largest coins | A linear scale: a value of 2 gives 0 and a value of 0 gives 100; beyond those limits the score stays at the end of the scale. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards greed | 15.0 |
| Market breadth | The share of coins that rose over the past 24 hours | A linear scale: a value of 0 gives 0 and a value of 1 gives 100; beyond those limits the score stays at the end of the scale. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards greed | 12.0 |
| Bitcoin dominance | The 30-day change in bitcoin's share of total market capitalisation | A linear scale: a value of 0.05 gives 0 and a value of −0.05 gives 100; beyond those limits the score stays at the end of the scale. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards greed | 9.0 |
| Stablecoin dominance | The 30-day change in stablecoins' share of total market capitalisation | A linear scale: a value of 0.02 gives 0 and a value of −0.02 gives 100; beyond those limits the score stays at the end of the scale. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards greed | 9.0 |
| Funding rate | The average settled funding rate of perpetual contracts over the last closed day | The rank of the current value among its own values over the last 365 trading days (a percentile); at least 90 observations are required. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards greed | 10.0 |
| Open interest | The 7-day change in the open interest of perpetual contracts, in contracts | The rank of the current value among its own values over the last 365 trading days (a percentile); at least 30 observations are required. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards greed | 10.0 |
| Put and call options | Open interest in put options relative to open interest in call options | The rank of the current value among its own values over the last 365 trading days (a percentile); at least 30 observations are required. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards fear | 10.0 |
| Implied volatility | The 30-day implied volatility index of options | The rank of the current value among its own values over the last 365 trading days (a percentile); at least 90 observations are required. | A rise in the measure moves the index towards fear | 10.0 |
How the number is built
The indicator is the weighted average of the scores of the available components. If a component is missing for the day, its weight is spread across the others.
A value is published when at least 5 of the 9 components are available. Otherwise there is no value for the day: the middle of the scale is never substituted for it.
The result is rounded to a whole number.
Zones of the scale
| Zone | Value |
|---|---|
| Extreme Fear | 0–25 |
| Fear | 25–45 |
| Neutral | 45–55 |
| Greed | 55–75 |
| Extreme Greed | 75–100 |
The lower bound belongs to the zone: a value of 45 is already “neutral”.
What to keep in mind
Version 2 added four components to the previous five: the funding rate, open interest, put and call options and implied volatility. Values before the change were calculated with version 1 and have not been recalculated; the change is marked on the history chart.
The funding rate, open interest and implied volatility are calculated on closed days (UTC): a value for the current day does not exist yet. Open interest in options is observed once a day, at its start.
The put/call ratio of options has been collected since October 2026 and will enter the calculation once 30 days of history are available. Until then the value is based on the remaining components, and their number is shown next to the value.
What is published
The indicators section and the indicators resource of the programmatic interface publish the indicator value and the component scores on a 0–100 scale — the results of our own calculation. The underlying figures the scores are derived from (prices, turnover, exchange index levels) are not part of them.
Method versions
Each version of the method is described on its own page, and that page does not change. If the calculation changes, a new version gets its own page and this one stays at its address.
The indicator reflects market statistics and does not constitute individual investment advice.