Michaël van de Poppe, a well-known analyst in the crypto market, emphasized that the Fear and Greed Index dropped to level 5 during the collapse of Bitcoin in 2026. This level is notable for being even lower than the values recorded in Bitcoin’s biggest crises to date. Van de Poppe recently focused on this sharp decline in market sentiment and how it compares to past crashes.
2026 Compared to the Past
Michaël van de Poppe compared the Fear and Greed Index by juxtaposing six of the major downturns in Bitcoin history. During the crash in 2012, the index was at 10. Then came Mt. Bitcoin, the biggest stock market crash in Bitcoin’s early history. Gox crash, the index was recorded as 9. During the period when Bitcoin entered the 2017-2018 bear market, the index was around 11.
In March 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic, Bitcoin dropped to $ 3,852 and the index became 9. With the collapse of the FTX exchange in November 2022, Bitcoin dropped to $ 15,642 and the index rose to 12. The fact that the index has dropped to 5 in 2026 indicates a level of fear that is below all previous crises.
Van de Poppe stated that with the index so low, the sentiment in the market is at its most negative level and there is even deeper distrust than previous crises.
How Does the Fear and Greed Index Work?
Fear and Greed Index; It turns a number of indicators such as volatility, market momentum, social media data, trading volume and Bitcoin’s market dominance into a single value. The index is scored from 0 to 100, with levels below 25 defined as extreme fear. The 5 points measured in 2026 stand out as almost the bottom level on this scale.
Such low index values mean that most investors in the market are selling or those who remain in the market are seriously disturbed. Troughs in market sentiment, often followed by broad sell-offs, represent periods when investors seek to minimize their risks.
Van de Poppe pointed out that in history, extreme levels of fear were the beginning of periods when prices rose to higher levels in the long term. Bitcoin’s price appears to have recovered significantly after periods where the index was at similar levels in the past.
What Does Current Index Value Mean?
The 5-point Fear and Greed Index recorded today in Bitcoin indicates even lower market confidence than previous periods when it fell to $3,852 or $15,642. However, this time the Bitcoin price is around $60,000.
While many investors who bought at higher levels in the current down cycle are experiencing huge psychological losses in value; This makes market sentiment even more negative. While investors face significant losses after purchasing at high prices, the fear that dominates the market in general is felt intensely from previous periods.
After six major crashes in Bitcoin’s fourteen-year history, the market is going through a similar cycle again. The current data point also marks the seventh time in the index’s history that a period of extreme fear has occurred.
