Fear and Greed Index: Crypto Market Sentiment Crashes, Entering Deep Fear Territory

Updated

January 21, 2026

Gambar Fear and Greed Index: Crypto Market Sentiment Crashes, Entering Deep Fear Territory

Jakarta, Pintu News – The Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell to 24 on January 21, 2026, signaling a return of market sentiment to the extreme fear zone after briefly entering greed territory last week.

Market sentiment deteriorated drastically as crypto assets came under immense pressure again, amid rising global geopolitical tensions.

Crypto Market Sentiment Plummets into Extreme Fear Zone

Reporting from BeInCrypto, President Trump’s tariff threats against the European Union triggered a massive sell-off in global markets, which had a significant impact on risky assets. The pressure intensified on Tuesday.

In his speech at Davos, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated that the Trump administration is ready to use tariffs as a key tool in geopolitical policy, further rattling global markets.

At the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin fell below the $90,000 level, even touching below $88,000. Ethereum also dropped to below $3,000. This massive sell-off erased more than $120 billion from the total crypto market capitalization in just the last 24 hours.

The derivatives market is reflecting the level of stress, with mass forced liquidations taking place. More than 182,000 traders were liquidated in the past day, with the total value of liquidations reaching $1.08 billion. Long positions accounted for about $989.9 million of the total losses.

This sharp sell-off also hit investor sentiment. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index dropped to 24 today. This marks the market’s return to the extreme fear zone, after last week’s greed zone of 61 on January 15.

Spot Gold hits a new ATH of $4,843 🚨

• Over $1.3T wiped out from U.S. equities

• US–Greenland tensions continue to escalate

• Markets flip back into “Extreme Fear”

Risk-off is back. Capital is running for safety. pic.twitter.com/C0q3M8sxwc
— Karan Singh Arora (@thisisksa) January 21, 2026

“Risk-off sentiment is back. Capital is starting to move into safer assets,” wrote one market watcher.

The index provides a comprehensive overview of the psychology of the crypto market, incorporating factors such as volatility, market volume and momentum, social media activity, Bitcoin dominance, and Google search trends.

Analysts Respond to Weakening Confidence in Crypto Market

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), an analyst named Rex stated that investor interest in the crypto sector has plummeted to a level of widespread apathy.

The current market mood is considered more worrisome because it is not only caused by falling prices, but also by a growing disillusionment with the long-term narrative of the crypto industry.

Rex notes that even long-time players in the crypto space are shifting their focus to the stock and commodity markets. This suggests a deeper drop in confidence, rather than just a temporary lull.

Sentiment has bottomed out for sure. No one gives a single fuck about crypto. Die hard crypto natives who've shown up daily for years are trading stock shitters and commodities. No one wants to make angel investments in this space, no one believes any of the bullshit narratives..…
— Rex (@R89Capital) January 20, 2026

“Nobody wants to invest as an angel investor in this sector, nobody believes in bullshit narratives anymore… No one cares anymore. Literally, the sentiment couldn’t be worse than it is now. During the COVID crash, people still believed in the industry – it’s worse now,” he wrote.

However, there are still investors who remain optimistic about a potential recovery. Another analyst, Doc, said that the sentiment at Bitcoin’s true bottom is likely to be worse than the time after the FTX collapse, although the current drop is not as deep as in 2022.

the comeback will be felt inside and outside of your body
— big daddy brando (@ethmaxi) January 21, 2026

This belief is based on the view that crypto is still a strong asymmetric investment, where the potential for long-term gains far outweighs the risk of losses, despite the current market pessimism.

“I’m not the type to make predictions, but if I had to pick one-the sentiment at the bottom of the BTC price will be worse than after FTX, although Bitcoin’s decline this time is not as deep as in 2022, and crypto will once again be the best asymmetric bet in the capital market. That’s why I’m staying the course,” he said.

Both post-FTX and $80k in Nov the general sentiment was that it's simply over for good for crypto.

"Crypto failed, it can't outperform gold"
"Saylor isn't going to buy any more, nobody is left"
"Why trade crypto, I'm going to equities"

Not as bad as post-FTX but close.
— Gammichan (@gammichan) January 21, 2026

Looking ahead, market direction is likely to be heavily dependent on the development of macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions in the weeks ahead. Until there is clarity, volatility is expected to remain high and sentiment remains fragile.

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