Crypto greed gauge hits highest since just before October’s $19 billion wipeout

Crypto traders have swung from fear to greed in less than a fortnight.

The widely watched Crypto Fear & Greed Index reached 74 on Tuesday, up from 27 on Aug. 12, before easing to 65 on Wednesday. It spent every day from late July through Aug. 19 in fear territory, dipping to 25 on Aug. 6, which the index classifies as “extreme fear.”

The gauge scores market mood from zero to 100 by blending bitcoin's volatility and trading momentum — which carry most of the weight — with social media activity, bitcoin's share of total crypto value and Google search interest. Anything above 50 counts as greed.

As such, it measures what traders are doing now rather than forecasting what happens next.

Data shows the index last sat this high on Oct. 5, 2025, five days before the crash that forced roughly $19 billion of leveraged positions to close in a single session, still the largest such event on record.