Crypto market sentiment remained in “extreme fear” on Friday, marking the 14th straight day that market sentiment has remained in the zone.
The sentiment-tracking Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell three points to a score of 20 out of 100 on Dec. 26, hitting a two-week stretch of “extreme fear” that started on Dec. 13, making it one of the longest periods in the zone since the index launched in February 2018.
Market sentiment has been trending down since early October after renewed US-China tariff fears wiped nearly $500 billion from the crypto market on Oct. 10.
Fears that the US Federal Reserve may pause rate cuts in the first quarter of 2026 may also be weighing on investor sentiment, with Jeff Mei, chief operating officer of crypto exchange BTSE, warning last Monday that Bitcoin could fall to $70,000 should the Fed keep rates steady.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $88,650, nearly 30% off its all-time high of $126,080 set on Oct. 6, CoinGecko data shows.
Despite the fall, the index score is even lower than that seen during FTX’s shock collapse in November 2022, which significantly damaged the crypto industry’s reputation and sent Bitcoin’s price toward $16,000.
The index score is based on market volatility, trading volume, social media sentiment, trends and Bitcoin dominance.
Crypto search volume has tanked
Data analytics platform Alphractal noted on Saturday that crypto search volume on Google, Wikipedia views, and posts and discussions on internet forums have also dropped.
“Crypto social volume has returned to levels typically seen during bear markets,” it said “December 2025, retail investors appear discouraged, disengaged, and largely absent from the crypto market.”
Bitwise’s Hougan points finger at “crypto-native retail”
Last month, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan blamed the crypto market pullback and falling sentiment on “crypto-native retail.”
“Crypto native retail is depressed, they were beaten down by FTX, they were beaten down by the memecoin debacle. They were beaten down by the altcoin season not arriving. They got hurt on the 10/10 liquidation, and I think they’re just sitting this one out.”
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On the other hand, “TradFi retail” is thriving, according to Hougan, who pointed to the rise in spot crypto exchange-traded fund inflows over the last two years.
“Traditional retail, like my uncle, he’s moving into crypto, that part of retail is still alive,” said Hougan.
US Bitcoin ETFs have attracted over $25 billion in inflows so far in 2025 despite Bitcoin posting a 5% loss year-to-date.
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