Crypto Fear & Greed Index Hits "Extreme Greed" for First Time Since 2024

According to Decrypt, cryptocurrency market sentiment has entered the "Extreme Greed" zone for the first time since late 2024. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, measured by CoinMarketCap, touched 81 on Sunday evening and has held at that level, breaking through the "Extreme Greed" threshold of 80. One month ago, the index stood at 36 (Fear), and a week ago at 41 (Neutral), climbing 45 points in just 30 days, nearly erasing all the caution accumulated in the first half of 2026. This marks the index's fastest sentiment shift of the year and the only instance since CoinMarketCap began tracking it where the index jumped directly from "Extreme Fear" to "Extreme Greed." Alternative.me, which has a longer tracking history, still places the index in the "Greed" zone (6% away from Extreme Greed) under its methodology, but the momentum of the sentiment shift is consistent. The index hit a yearly low of 5 on February 5, deep in "Extreme Fear," and from that bottom to this week's 81, the market completed a round trip from full capitulation to extreme greed within six months. This sentiment reversal has moved in tandem with Bitcoin's price action. Bitcoin rose approximately 24% over the week, outperforming the broader crypto market, with its share of total market capitalization continuing to increase. The rally began last Wednesday when the U.S. Treasury announced it would double its long-term bond buyback size from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation, a move that weakened the dollar and pushed investors to view Bitcoin as an inflation hedge. After Bitcoin broke above $70,000, shorts were forced to cover, with over $4 billion in crypto short positions liquidated within two to three days;