Animal Spirits in Crypto Whipsaw From Fear to Greed As Tariffs Concerns Recede

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index whipsawed back to greed after a day deep in fear territory.

The market emotion index dumped to 44, well into fear, on Feb. 3, before returning to 72 on Feb. 4. That’s where it had been for the previous week and most of the previous month.

The Feb. 3 measure captured the overnight panic that hit late Sunday into early Monday morning, when crypto prices were still a sea of red.

Much of the panic yesterday stemmed from news that President Donald Trump had imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China. Panic began during Asian trading hours. In the morning, the panic had moved over into the broader U.S. financial markets, and crypto followed along.

By the time the U.S. day got into swing, however, President Trump was already pulling back by delaying those tariffs, making for a return to green on Monday evening into Tuesday.

The Fear and Greed Index was in fear territory for the first time since Oct. 14, although it scraped by on Jan. 10 with a dip down to 50, or dead neutral.

The index gauges market sentiment, providing a score from 0 to 100. It uses sources including volatility, market momentum and public sentiment data.