The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell seven points to 71 on September 23, moving from “Extreme Greed” back into “Greed” as the broader digital asset market continued to trade near recent highs. The drop marks a moderation in sentiment rather than a return to risk aversion, with the index still sitting 20 points above its reading of 51 one week earlier.
According to Alternative.me’s Crypto Fear & Greed Index, sentiment reached 78 on September 22 before retreating to 71. The shift comes as the broader crypto market continues advancing at a slower pace, with CoinGecko recording approximately $3.03 trillion in total market capitalization and $123 billion in 24-hour trading volume in an early September 23 snapshot.
Market Momentum Cools After a Sharp Rally
The latest market-cap gain was approximately 0.5%, substantially below the 4.7% advance recorded in the comparable September 22 snapshot. Trading volume also declined from about $160.7 billion to $123 billion. The combination of slower market-cap growth and lower turnover provides a more measured backdrop to the seven-point sentiment decline, although one daily comparison is not sufficient to establish a broader reversal in market momentum.
Bitcoin remained above $86,000, while Ethereum traded near $2,750 during the session. Their daily advances had also moderated relative to the previous day, when Bitcoin experienced a considerably sharper move. Major assets therefore remained elevated even as the intensity of the rally and the sentiment reading eased, suggesting consolidation rather than a broad risk-off move at the time of the snapshot.
DeFi activity showed somewhat different momentum. CoinGecko’s DeFi category remained positive during the day, with its market capitalization around $87 billion and billions of dollars in 24-hour trading volume. That divergence illustrates why the headline sentiment index should not be interpreted as a uniform measure of strength across every crypto sector, particularly when capital can rotate between Bitcoin, altcoins and decentralized finance assets during the same session.
Greed Remains Elevated Despite the Pullback
Alternative.me builds the index from Bitcoin volatility, market momentum and volume, social-media activity, Bitcoin dominance and Google Trends data, while its survey component is currently paused. The score ranges from zero for Extreme Fear to 100 for Extreme Greed. A reading of 71 therefore still indicates elevated optimism even after the decline from Tuesday’s 78. Alternative.me presents extreme readings as potential contrarian signals, but they are not forecasts of future price direction.
Recent history also shows how quickly sentiment can change. The index stood at 51 on September 16, fell to 50 the following day and then climbed through 56, 71 and 78 before today’s retreat. A similar moderation in the Fear & Greed Index has previously occurred alongside market rebounds, reinforcing that sentiment can cool without automatically ending an underlying price advance. The current 71 reading is best viewed as a snapshot of reduced enthusiasm after a rapid sentiment expansion, not confirmation that market direction has reversed.
The next useful signal will be whether sentiment remains in Greed while market volume stabilizes or continues falling. A sustained divergence between elevated prices and weakening participation would carry more information than a single seven-point move in the index. For now, the September 23 data shows optimism cooling from an extreme level while Bitcoin, Ethereum and the wider crypto market continue trading above levels seen a week earlier.