The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has held in the single digits for weeks - its lowest readings since the FTX collapse - while fund flow data from CoinShares confirms four consecutive weeks of net withdrawals from cryptocurrency investment products.
The two datasets together paint the starkest picture of institutional and retail disengagement since the 2022 market collapse.
The Fear & Greed Index stood at 11 on Feb. 19, recovering slightly from a low of 9 in early February. Google Trends data shows searches for "Bitcoin (BTC) going to zero" hit an all-time high, with the interest score reaching its maximum of 100.
The Outflow Picture
According to CoinShares data published Feb. 13, global cryptocurrency investment products recorded approximately $187 million in net outflows for the most recent weekly period, a deceleration from two prior weeks that each saw roughly $1.7 billion exit the sector.
Bitcoin products led withdrawals, while XRP and Ethereum saw selective inflows in certain periods.
Four-week cumulative outflows now total approximately $3.74 billion, according to the chart provided, covering the period through Feb. 13. Cryptocurrency funds have posted net outflows in 11 of the last 16 weeks.
Year-to-date, ETF investors have pulled over $4.1 billion from cryptocurrency products, with U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs accounting for the majority of the damage. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which attracted $24.9 billion in 2025, has shed roughly $580 million in the first six weeks of 2026 alone.
Since Bitcoin's October 2025 price peak, total assets under management across cryptocurrency investment products have fallen by $73 billion, according to CoinShares.
Read also: Bloomberg Analyst McGlone Walks Back $10,000 Bitcoin Call, Settles On $28,000 After Public Backlash
Why the Evidence Is Divided
CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill noted that the pace of outflows - rather than their direction - has historically been the more useful signal. The deceleration from $1.7 billion to $187 million in a single week, he wrote, has historically coincided with potential sentiment inflection points.
On the analytical side, Nic Puckrin of Coin Bureau challenged the popular "buy extreme fear" thesis directly, citing historical data showing the average 90-day forward return when the Fear & Greed Index falls below 25 is just 2.4%. By contrast, periods of Extreme Greed have delivered average 90-day returns of up to 95%.
Critics of that framing argue a 90-day window is too narrow. Market observers citing longer-horizon data note that Bitcoin has averaged over 300% gains in the 12 months following extreme fear readings - suggesting the index functions better as a year-long accumulation signal than a short-term timing tool.
Read next: Georgian Fund Manager Walks Free After Embezzling $40M In Bitcoin From Ex-PM