The Fear and Greed Index Plunged to 35 Following a Sharp Market Correction
Date: 2025-10-13 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: BUSINESS
The digital asset market has experienced a significant downturn, causing the Fear and Greed Index to plummet to 35, indicating a preponderance of fear among investors. This occurred amid US President Donald Trump's announcement to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods. According to CoinMarketCap, the index fell from 64 to 35—a sharp drop that was the deepest in six months.
A similar level was last seen in April 2025, when Bitcoin was trading around $80,000. This time, the collapse was accompanied by a daily decline of approximately 20%. According to TradingView, the BTC price temporarily dropped to $102,000, and total market liquidations reached $19.27 billion, including both long and short positions.
Andre Dragos, head of Bitwise's European operations, noted that the current move could be a "strong buy signal." He explained that Bitwise's internal sentiment index had fallen to -2.8 standard deviations—the lowest level since the summer of 2024, when carry trades declined.
A similar level of panic was recorded on April 16, after Bitcoin fell to $77,000 due to increasing global trade uncertainty. Notably, a few days earlier, Trump announced a 90-day suspension of tariff increases and a temporary reduction of the base rate to 10% for most countries, which prompted a brief improvement in market sentiment.
Just a week ago, the situation looked the opposite: on October 5, the Fear and Greed Index was in the "Greed Zone," and Bitcoin reached a new all-time high above $125,000. However, an unexpected shift in political direction and rising geopolitical risks dramatically altered investor sentiment.
Experts note that such corrections are not uncommon in the crypto market, where high volatility is the norm. However, the scale of the current decline has raised alarm even among experienced traders. Despite this, JPMorgan Chase analysts previously predicted that Bitcoin could reach $165,000 in the long term if positive macroeconomic trends and institutional investor interest persist.
Therefore, the current correction can be viewed not only as a manifestation of fear, but also as a possible trigger for a new accumulation cycle, which traditionally precedes a market recovery.
