Extreme Fear Creeps Back Into the Crypto Market as Bitcoin Tanks by $20K in Days

The last time investors were this fearful was in early April when BTC traded around $76,200.

For the first time in more than six months, crypto investors are experiencing deep fear. This bearish sentiment comes amid a broader market decline and bitcoin’s (BTC) dive to the $103,000 level.

Data from Alternative.me shows that the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has fallen to a level that signals extreme fear among investors. The last time investors were this fearful was in early April when BTC traded around $76,200.

Extreme Fear Grips Investors

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index gauges investor sentiment by analyzing several factors, including market volatility, momentum, trends, BTC dominance, and social media. The metric reads from 0 to 100, with the former signaling extreme fear and the latter number indicating extreme greed. When the market has a neutral sentiment, the index hovers around 50.

Currently, the index sits at 22, a range that signals extreme fear. Last week, it hovered around 64, indicating a greedy sentiment among investors as BTC mostly hovered above $120,000. It is worth mentioning that the index dived from the greed level to the fear range as BTC plummeted amid the market crash on October 10.

As BTC recovered from last week’s carnage, the index climbed a little. However, the ongoing correction has triggered a deeper plunge in the metric. The current state of the market has triggered different reactions from several analysts. Some predict more pain in the coming days before the bulls take over and bring the “Uptober” positive seasonality to play. Others claim that the bull run is over and it will be downhill from here until the end of the bear market.

Either way, periods where fear has dominated the market often present buying opportunities to investors.

More Pain Incoming?

While observers and participants await the market’s next step, Bitcoin liquidations are increasing by the hour. In the last 24 hours, over 305,000 traders have been liquidated for more than $1.2 billion. Long positions account for at least $917 million, while short trades have been wrecked for more than $261 million.

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However, BTC bounced in the past few hours after US President Donald Trump said the tariffs on China he announced last week won’t stand. Additionally, he and President Xi are set to meet in two weeks.