Crypto sentiment hits "extreme greed" for the first time since late 2024

CoinDesk reports that crypto market mood has swung back into "extreme greed." CoinMarketCap's Crypto Fear & Greed Index climbed to 81, its first reading at that level since the end of 2024, signaling a sharp near-term rebound in risk appetite. The index stood at 36 a month ago in the "fear" zone and was 41 a week ago, close to "neutral." By Sunday it surged to 81 and has held there, a 45-point jump over 30 days. The report describes the move as an unusually fast sentiment shift since CoinMarketCap began tracking the gauge. On February 5, the index fell to 5, deep in "extreme fear." From that trough, sentiment flipped from heavy pessimism to clear optimism in roughly six months. The upswing has tracked Bitcoin's recent rally. Bitcoin is up about 24% over the past week, outpacing the broader market as flows concentrate in top-tier assets. Momentum strengthened after last Wednesday's U.S. Treasury announcement that it will increase the size of its long-term Treasury buyback operations from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation starting September 9. The report said the move pressured the dollar and pushed some capital toward inflation-hedging assets such as Bitcoin. As Bitcoin pushed through $70,000, short covering added to volatility. More than $4 billion of crypto shorts were liquidated over two to three days, according to the report. Spot Bitcoin ETFs also posted their largest net inflow since May; combined Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs drew about $2.3 billion. The aligned shifts across spot, funding, and derivatives markets were cited as a key driver of the rapid improvement in sentiment. Alternative.me's long-running gauge still labels the market "greedy" rather than "extreme greed." Despite methodological differences, both indicators point to a fast pivot in trading sentiment toward optimism.