Fear and Greed Index is an indicator that reflects the current mood of investors regarding a particular asset - whether they want to buy it (greed zone) or are afraid to do it (fear zone). The classic image of the index resembles a car speedometer with values from 0 to 100, where 0-24 is the maximum level of fear, 25-49 is fear, 50-74 is greed, 75-100 is the maximum level of greed.
Why use this indicator? In order to understand where the market is more likely to go in the near future. The fear zone, as a rule, indicates bearish investor sentiment or a falling market. With the greed zone, the opposite is true - you can expect the activation of bulls and price growth. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that maximum fear is often a harbinger of a reversal of a declining price and the formation of a growing trend. And maximum greed may well indicate that there are too many buyers, and the growing market needs a correction.
However, it is worth remembering that this index is only one of the tools for determining the movement of the price of an asset, in no case should it be used as a basis or the only argument for making decisions. For the right actions, a comprehensive market analysis is necessary. And if there is not enough time or knowledge for him yet, then you can use trading bots from GRIN4.
Traders working in the stock or futures market, as a rule, turn to the CNN fear and greed index. Crypto traders and investors can use the following resources: btctools, alternative, cryptocurrencytracker.
There are several methods for calculating indexes, for example, btctools uses four key parameters in it:
1. trading volume - its current indicator is compared with historical data (period from 1 to 3 months);
2. the open interest of exchanges in the analyzed asset in comparison with the data of the previous period. A high open interest means a desire to buy or greed, and a low one means a lack of interest in acquiring an asset or fear;
3. Data from social networks, for example, in the case of btctools, this is Reddit and Twitter. Analysts review and study messages that mention bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, and then use this analysis to determine market sentiment. Optimistic messages are considered as an indicator of greed, negative or anxious - fear.
4. The volume, nature and trends of search queries about bitcoin or other assets over the past month.
As you can see, the fear and greed index is a kind of mix of objective numerical data and subjective interpretation of information from various sources. It is definitely useful for drawing up or adjusting a trading strategy, but it should be used in conjunction with other indicators, technical analysis and fundamental factors.
