The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, one of the leading indicators of the crypto market, reached its highest score this year, hitting levels not seen since Bitcoin (BTC) posted its all-time high in November 2021.
The latest index update showed a score of 68/100, placing it in the “greed” category. This means that investors have left the “fear” of investing and are more open to the crypto market. The index seeks to numerically represent investors’ current “emotions and sentiments” towards Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market in general, with a maximum score of 100.
The last time the index reached the current mark was on November 16, 2021, just days after Bitcoin recorded an all-time high of over $69,000 on November 10, 2021.
Banking Crisis Boosts Cryptocurrencies
The shift in cryptocurrency market “sentiment” comes amid the banking crisis that closed three banks in the United States, including Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and resulted in the sale of Switzerland’s Credit Suisse to UBS.
Parallel to this, the price of Bitcoin also rose. According to data from CoinGecko, the largest cryptocurrency on the market is up more than 28% in the last two weeks and, at the time of writing, is priced at $28,109 (R$147,648). Bitcoin’s current price level is the highest in over a year, since June 2022.
The appreciation of Bitcoin, which has risen 28% in the last two weeks, has also boosted altcoins – alternative cryptocurrencies to Bitcoin. Ether (ETH), for example, the second-largest digital currency on the market, jumped 15.5% over the same period. Meanwhile, BNB was up 17%, XRP 14%, Lido Staken Ether (STETH) 15.7% and Solana (SOL) 11.4%.
Bitcoin is the best performing asset
Amid the recent rise, Bitcoin also became the best performing asset of the year, as highlighted by Goldman Sachs. The cryptocurrency has outperformed technology stocks, the Nasdaq 100, the S&P 500, gold and many other investment products.
Contrary to what happened in 2022, the biggest cryptocurrency on the market started the new year off on the right foot. BTC price has skyrocketed from R$87,473 on January 1st to over R$147,137 at this time. That is, Bitcoin delivered an appreciation of more than 68% in the year.
