Crypto Fear and Greed Index Rises as Altcoin Season Gains Momentum

Fear and greed climb toward 50 as Bitcoin and altcoins rally; Altcoin Season Index hits 47 with strong volume and ETF inflows boosting risk-on sentiment.

Rich by Coin

2026-03-17

The Altcoin Season Index continued its uptrend, while the Crypto Fear and Greed Index moved towards the greed zone. It rose to 47 on Tuesday, with the fear-and-greed gauge rising to 46. This means that the two gauges may soon cross the important milestone of 50. Data compiled by CoinMarketCap shows that the Crypto Fear and Greed Index jumped to 47 on Tuesday, up from the year-to-date low of 5.

As such, there are signs that it may jump near the greed zone of 60 this month. The rising Fear and Greed Index suggests investors are becoming more aggressive as Bitcoin and other altcoins jump amid the ongoing Iran war. Indeed, data shows that the 24-hour volume soared by 65% to over $147 billion, while the futures open interest jumped by 7% to over $116 billion. Short liquidations soared by 215% to $609 million.

Bitcoin has jumped by 10% in the last 7 days and is hovering near the key resistance level at $76,000. Ethereum has soared by 17%, while XRP jumped by 14%. Some of the other top gainers in the crypto industry were altcoins like Zcash, FET Coin, Pepe, Polkadot, and Pump, which all jumped by over 10% in the last 24 hours. This surge explains why the Altcoin Season Index has jumped to 47, with most of the gains in the last 90 days being driven by tokens like River, Kite, Canton, Humanity Protocol, and LayerZero.

The crypto market rally is also happening amid the ongoing rotation from gold to Bitcoin. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have added over $1.4 billion this month, while the closely-watched SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) has shed assets in the last two consecutive weeks. This performance is occurring as investors buy the news. As you recall, Bitcoin and most altcoins dropped sharply before the war began, with Bitcoin falling to $60,000. Now, these assets are rising since the war has started.

Now, these assets are rising since the war has started. Additionally, the rally this week is happening amid crude oil prices that are retreating amid hope that traffic in the Strait of Hormuz will resume. Brent, the global benchmark, dropped to $103 from a high of $106 on Monday. This explains why US indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100 rose by triple digits on Monday.