This morning, I saw ETH rise by 6.3%, surging from $2060 all the way up to $2240, and some people in my social circle are already shouting "The bull is back." But wait, the Fear and Greed Index is only 11. What does that mean?

This brings us to market sentiment indicators. The Fear and Greed Index scores up to 100, and currently, it's at 11, which indicates an "Extreme Fear" state. Sounds contradictory, right? Prices are rising, but everyone is still very scared.
Actually, this situation happens often, especially at the end of a bear market or during consolidation periods. Short-term price fluctuations are different from overall market sentiment. The Fear and Greed Index combines multiple dimensions: trading volume, market momentum, social media sentiment, Bitcoin dominance, and more.
Imagine you're in a very dark room and suddenly see a little light—you'd be excited, but still nervous. That's the current market state. Today's ETH rally is more like a rebound from oversold conditions rather than the start of a trend-setting bull market.
This is why we can't just look at the price; we also need to observe sentiment. When the fear index is extremely low, it often means the market has become overly pessimistic, but this pessimism doesn't dissipate immediately. A genuine bull market usually requires sentiment to gradually shift from extreme fear to greed.
So, while today's gains are encouraging, staying calm is even more important. The market has given us a valuable case study in emotional analysis.