The Fear and Greed Index most people search for is CNN's: a 0–100 score of how scared or greedy US stock investors are right now. Crypto has its own fear and greed index with the same name and scale, but it's built from different data - so the two can disagree.
What goes into CNN's index
CNN combines seven stock market indicators:
- Market momentum - how far the S&P 500 sits above or below its recent average
- Stock price strength - stocks hitting new highs vs new lows
- Stock price breadth - volume in rising vs falling stocks
- Put and call options - how much traders are paying for protection
- Junk bond demand - appetite for riskier debt
- Market volatility - the VIX
- Safe haven demand - how stocks are doing against Treasuries
How the crypto version differs
Crypto fear and greed indexes usually draw on crypto-native data: bitcoin volatility, trading volume, social media activity, bitcoin dominance and search trends. Stocks can sit in greed while crypto sits in fear, or the other way round. If you're new to the crypto side, start with how to read the crypto fear & greed index.
Treat the extremes as caution signals
Whichever index you watch, the extremes matter most:
- Extreme greed often means most of the people who wanted to buy already have. It's a cue to be careful about chasing, not a sell signal on its own.
- Extreme fear often means a lot of the selling is already done. It's a cue to stay calm, not a guaranteed bottom.
Comparing the two adds context:
- Both at an extreme - risk assets as a whole are leaning hard one way.
- They disagree - something crypto-specific may be going on. Check the news before acting.
Neither index predicts price. Think of them as thermometers, not forecasts.
Reading it on WhaleCue
At the top of the News screen you'll find community sentiment: every day we turn the buy and sell mood of Korean crypto communities into a 0–100 score, with the change since yesterday next to it. Put it side by side with CNN's index and you can see at a glance whether stocks and crypto are running hot or cold together.
Sentiment is context, not investment advice. Always make your own call.