Bitcoin plummeted to a low of around $60,000 after the Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit its lowest score since mid-2022, when the Terra blockchain collapsed. The sentiment in the crypto market has slumped to its lowest level in over three and a half years amid Bitcoin falling by double-digit percentage points to a low of around $60,000. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to a score of 9 out of 100 on Friday, indicating 'extreme fear' in the market and hitting its lowest point since June 2022, when sentiment and the market fell in the wake of the collapse of the Terra blockchain a month earlier.

The index has been at a low for the last fortnight as Bitcoin (BTC) has tanked 38% from its 2026 high of $97,000 in just three weeks, wiping out all gains for the past sixteen months. Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since October 2024 at a little over $60,000 on Coinbase in early trading on Friday morning. It is currently trading at just over $64,000 after dumping 13% over the past 24 hours, marking its largest daily loss since mid-2022.

Bitcoin has now collapsed below the 200-week exponential moving average, a long-term trend indicator, which has only previously happened in the depths of a bear market. It is currently 50% down from its all-time high of $126,000 in early October. Over the past 24 hours, more than 588,000 traders were liquidated for $2.7 billion, with 85% of them being leveraged longs predominantly in Bitcoin.

Jeff Ko, chief analyst at CoinEx Research, noted that Bitcoin’s more than 20% drawdown in a week coincides with a selloff in US tech stocks. He pointed out that concerns around an artificial intelligence-driven bubble and stretched valuations have long been highlighted by the market. Even Amazon suffered a double-digit decline overnight following a mixed earnings release.

Investors are increasingly reassessing Bitcoin's failure to function as a safe haven compared to gold. Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, stated that Bitcoin’s fall and broader market decline comes amid heightened risk aversion triggered by softer US job market signals. Rising unemployment claims raise doubts about sustained economic strength and potential Fed caution on aggressive rate cuts.