Crypto market sentiment remained firmly in “extreme fear” on Friday, extending the streak to 14 consecutive days in the pessimistic zone.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped three points to a reading of 20 out of 100 on Dec. 26, marking two straight weeks of extreme fear since Dec. 13. This represents one of the longest such periods since the index was introduced in February 2018.
Market sentiment has been deteriorating since early October, after renewed concerns over US–China tariffs erased nearly $500 billion from the crypto market on Oct. 10.
Concerns that the US Federal Reserve may pause interest rate cuts in the first quarter of 2026 are also weighing on investor sentiment. Last Monday, Jeff Mei, chief operating officer of crypto exchange BTSE, warned that Bitcoin could drop to $70,000 if the Fed opts to keep rates unchanged.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $88,650, nearly 30% below its all-time high of $126,080 reached on Oct. 6, according to CoinGecko data.
Despite the recent decline, overall sentiment is even weaker than during the shock collapse of FTX in November 2022, an event that severely damaged the crypto industry’s credibility and sent Bitcoin tumbling toward $16,000.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index measures sentiment using a range of factors, including market volatility, trading volume, social media activity, trends, and Bitcoin dominance.
Crypto search interest plunges
Data analytics platform Alphractal said on Saturday that crypto-related search activity has fallen sharply, citing declines in Google searches, Wikipedia views, and discussions across online forums.
“Crypto social volume has returned to levels typically seen during bear markets,” the platform said. “In December 2025, retail investors appear discouraged, disengaged, and largely absent from the crypto market.”
Bitwise’s Hougan points to “crypto-native retail”
Last month, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan attributed the market pullback and deteriorating sentiment to weakness among “crypto-native retail” investors.
“Crypto-native retail is depressed,” Hougan said. “They were beaten down by FTX, the memecoin debacle, the failure of altcoin season to materialize, and the 10/10 liquidation. I think they’re just sitting this one out.”
By contrast, Hougan said participation from traditional finance retail investors remains strong, pointing to steady inflows into spot crypto exchange-traded funds over the past two years.
“Traditional retail—like my uncle—is moving into crypto. That part of retail is still alive,” he said.
US Bitcoin ETFs have attracted more than $25 billion in inflows so far in 2025, despite Bitcoin posting a 5% loss year-to-date.
