Fear & Greed Index Hits ATH as Bitcoin Continues Surge Above $60,000

The Fear & Greed Index has reached 82, a sign of "extreme greed," indicating that the market is extremely optimistic about Bitcoin's prospects to surpass previous ATHs.

Fear & Greed Index Hits ATH as Bitcoin Continues Surge Above $60,000

Following its rise to $55,000 in the evening of February 26, 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) has continued its bullish momentum, adding nearly $5,000 in value over the past 24 hours to surpass the $60,000 mark, marking a further 9% increase and achieving a market capitalization of over $1.2 trillion USD.

At its current value, Bitcoin is now only 15% away from touching its all-time high of $69,000 established in late November 2021.

4-hour chart of BTC/USDT pair on Binance as of 05:30 PM on February 28, 2024

BTC's price surge continues with capital inflows from Bitcoin spot ETFs - investment products for Wall Street giants recently approved by the SEC in mid-January 2024.

According to BitMEX Research, on the trading day of February 27 (US time), these 10 Bitcoin ETFs saw a total inflow of $576.2 million, with BlackRock's IBIT alone accounting for $520 million.

Since SEC approval, cumulative trading volumes for Bitcoin ETF products have exceeded $6.7 billion, continuously breaking previous trading volume records, demonstrating ongoing institutional demand for BTC.

[1/4] Bitcoin ETF Flow - 27 Feb 2024

All data now in.

$576.8m net inflow on 27th Feb, very strong day. Blackrock alone had $520m inflow

Total net inflow since 11th Jan 2024 now $6,726.1m for the ETFs pic.twitter.com/E0zDBkzqxm— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) February 28, 2024

Data from CoinGlass shows that market volatility in the past 24 hours has led to liquidations totaling $263.88 million in leveraged positions across exchanges. Highlighting this, $152.83 million, or 57.9%, of these liquidations were in short positions, indicating that many investors anticipated a short-term market correction which did not materialize.

Statistics on derivatives market liquidations, CoinGlass screenshot at 05:20 PM on February 28, 2024

Meanwhile, the Fear & Greed Index, a measure commonly used to gauge momentum, trading volume, volatility, and social media mentions related to Bitcoin, has reached 82 out of 100, surpassing the 79 recorded two weeks ago and marking its highest level since the cryptocurrency's previous ATH of $69,000.

The index developers note that levels above 70 typically indicate overly optimistic market sentiment and could potentially signal an impending correction. However, such arguments are not always accurate.

Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index is 82 — Extreme Greed
Current price: $57,085 pic.twitter.com/SeNACNu8s6— Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index (@BitcoinFear) February 28, 2024

All these developments underscore the market's extreme optimism regarding Bitcoin's prospects to surpass the $69,000 ATH in the near future, especially with the upcoming halving event in mid-April drawing closer.

Thanks to Bitcoin's growth momentum, many other major altcoins in the market, such as ETH, have also reached new highs not seen in nearly two years, hitting $3,369, marking an approximate 5% increase over the past 24 hours.

4-hour chart of ETH/USDT pair on Binance as of 05:25 PM on February 28, 2024