Crypto sentiment has dropped to its lowest level in around six years, with the crypto fear and greed index dropping to 4/100 overnight, a level not seen since the COVID crash in March 2020. It comes as the Bitcoin price slid to around $60,255, a 15-month low, wiping out more than half its value since late 2025.
The selloff reflects a wider squeeze from Fed policy uncertainty, a stronger dollar, and the US circling Iran, resulting in fading risk appetite across global markets.
Crypto Fear and Greed Chart
The fear level now mirrors the mood of both the 2022 FTX Exchange collapse and the March 2020 COVID crash, a two-year period that drained billions from the market and left thousands of investors financially ruined, with the scars still present today.
Current price action hasn’t been helped by the likes of BlackRock, whose IBIT Bitcoin ETF has seen over $400M in outflows over the past two days, adding more sell pressure to an already struggling market.
What Does Crypto Extreme Fear and Greed Really Mean?
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 4/100 overnight, an unprecedented level, but has since rallied to 9/100. Both 4 and 9 mark “Extreme Fear.” It works by combining price moves, volatility, and trading behavior into a single number that indicates how investors feel about current market conditions.
Historically, whenever the index falls into the single digits, it signals panic selling. Although this is when investors can feel at their lowest, watching their bags dwindle to nothing, smart players watch these moments because forced selling can push prices far below fair value.
The last time fear hit this level was during two separate occasions in 2022. First, the Terra Luna unwinding in May, followed by the FTX Exchange collapse in November. Those crashes broke confidence after the Terra UST stablecoin lost its dollar peg, resulting in billions of dollars in retail investment going up in smoke.
A reported $200Bn was lost as the Sam Bankman-Fried-led FTX Exchange collapsed later in 2022, which capped off a rough year for crypto market participants after seemingly endless black swan events.
Prior to this was the March 2020 COVID crash, which saw the Bitcoin price drop by -50% in a few hours. Now, six years on from COVID and four from the FTX/Terra collapse, we’re back here again.
DISCOVER: 10+ Next Crypto to 100X In 2026
Why Macro Pressure Is Crushing Bitcoin, Sparking Huge Crypto Crash
This Bitcoin crash and broader crypto market downturn come as a rising US dollar tightens financial conditions, making risky assets less attractive. The Dollar Index has jumped since late January, pulling liquidity out of the cryptocurrency market.
Then there is the US and its latest war efforts, this time with Iran. Tensions are growing in the region as talks have reportedly stalled, and a full-scale invasion of the Middle-Eastern nation could spell further disaster for crypto.
This broad macro squeeze explains the crypto crash despite growing adoption and ETF access. In fact, the emergence of crypto ETFs is having a negative effect on the charts right now. BlackRock is leading the way in negative flows, dumping over $550M in BTC USD over the past few days.
Record breaking trading volume for U.S. 🇺🇸 Bitcoin ETFs 👇 $IBIT over $7.3 Billion 💥 pic.twitter.com/kThu3bNhDq
— HODL15Capital 🇺🇸 (@HODL15Capital) February 5, 2026
When things are going well, positive flows into ETF products help stabilize prices and drive them higher, but in times of uncertainty, institutional investors seek safety, and their dumping of Bitcoin through these products only adds to the already heavy sell pressure.
Everywhere we look, crypto is bleeding, from the major caps such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, down to the lowliest of meme coins. Could Maxi Doge (MAXI) be just what investors are looking for in these trying times?
This new crypto meme coin presale has raised over $4.5M in funding to date and is quietly becoming one of the most in-demand projects in 2026.
BONUS: Why are Investors Seeking Safety in the Maxi Doge (MAXI) Presale Amid this Brutal Crypto Crash?
Put simply, investors want to feel something again. Long gone are the days of the community running the likes of DOGE, SHIB, and PEPE to billions, printing overnight millionaires in the process. With the Crypto greed and fear index hitting unprecedented lows, crypto needs a saviour now more than ever.
MAXI is speaking to this nostalgia, branded as a ‘DOGE on steroids’, this is the next generation of meme coin, with all of the memes and community spirit that raised Dogecoin and others to their current levels, but with built-in staking initiatives that help take Maxi Doge to the next level.
Another factor driving investors into the MAXI presale is that the token isn’t live yet and, as such, isn’t at the mercy of the ongoing crypto crash. This means traders can simply park their funds in the Maxi Doge presale and kick back, waiting for it to close.
If the MAXI token launches at a better time in the market, it could be the golden lottery ticket for investors in 2026. Be part of the Maxi Doge community by joining the degens on X and Telegram, and stay up to date with all things MAXI.
EXPLORE: The 12+ Hottest Crypto Presales to Buy Right Now
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