Sentiment across the cryptocurrency market has sunk to its weakest point since February after a sharp sell-off pushed Bitcoin below the $100,000 psychological support level.
The downturn has fed directly into investor emotions, dragging the Fear & Greed Index to 15, a reading deep within the Extreme Fear zone. The entire crypto market is now down by about 6% in the past 24 hours, creating one of the most emotionally compressed trading environments seen this year.
Crypto Fear & Greed Index Plunges To 15
The entire crypto market has been faced with a series of liquidations and selling pressure in the past 24 hours that have seen many cryptocurrencies lose major support levels. The most important of the bunch is Bitcoin, which is now trading below $100,000 for the first time since early May, according to data from CoinGecko.
Bitcoin’s break below $100,000 was accompanied by a cascade of forced liquidations that wiped out a large share of leveraged long positions across the industry. CoinGlass data shows that $1.10 billion worth of crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours alone, with $968.51 million of that total coming from longs.
This rapid unwinding of bullish leverage intensified the bearish sentiment in the market, especially among traders who had expected Bitcoin to defend the $100,000 support more convincingly.
The chain reaction was not isolated to Bitcoin. Ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies followed the drop, and data from CoinGecko reveals that the entire crypto market capitalization has fallen by 6% in 24 hours, the largest single-day drop in quite some time.
These synchronized weaknesses have worked together to pull the Fear & Greed Index toward extreme readings. According to the Fear & Greed Index published by Alternative.me, the score dropped to as low as 15 in the past 24 hours, which is well below the “Extreme Fear” category. This is also interesting, because it marks the lowest level of crypto market sentiment recorded since March 4, 2025.
What Comes Next For Bitcoin And The Crypto Market?
The coming days will depend on whether Bitcoin can reclaim lost ground and reestablish itself above the six-figure threshold at $100,000.
If the Bitcoin price continues to trade below $100,000, the market may remain in a defensive posture. However, if stability begins to form and there’s enough buying pressure to push above $100,000 again, the sentiment could gradually recover to ease the Extreme Fear reading.
Earlier in the year, when the index last touched similar levels, Bitcoin eventually stabilized and entered a steady recovery phase. This does not guarantee an immediate turnaround in this case, but it indicates that many short-term traders and weak hands have already been removed from the market.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $97,080, down by 6.5% in the past 24 hours. The entire crypto market cap is at $3.368 trillion, down by 6.2% in the same timeframe.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
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