As Santiment notes, such spikes in negative sentiment have often preceded market reversals in the past. They emphasized that “crypto markets often move against the crowd when it becomes too confident that the uptrend is over,” RBC reports.
When talk of the “death of cryptocurrencies” intensifies and Bitcoin continues to hold key levels, “strong hands” keep accumulating assets while sellers exit the market, Santiment explains. In their view, this picture makes the current situation attractive for “patient buyers.” Historically, widespread claims about the “death” of cryptocurrencies have emerged when selling pressure had already run its course.
The previous surge in such rhetoric was observed in June, when the Bitcoin price fell below $60,000 per coin twice, hitting its lowest level since late 2024. After that, the cryptocurrency’s price recovered by about 10% from its low within a week or two.
The “fear” scenario Santiment refers to in the current environment (as of August 14) is not related to a price drop, but rather to a lack of volatility and low trading volumes. It is also due to the fact that crypto investors have shifted their focus to trading stocks of traditional companies, commodities, and other assets from the traditional financial sector.
In addition, experts describe the current bear market as one of the most challenging for the crypto industry. Hundreds of crypto projects, including crypto exchanges, have ceased operations, and 80% of all protocols’ revenue is concentrated in three separate projects.
As of August 16, the price of Bitcoin stands at just over $63,000, continuing to trade within a narrow range—$60,000–$66,000—since June. Since July, its price has been within an even narrower range—$62,000–$65,000. Since the beginning of the year, the Bitcoin price has fallen by nearly 30%, and by 50% from the record high of $126,200 reached in early October of last year.
This trend is accompanied by trading volume data, which has reached its lowest level since 2019, measured in terms of the number of bitcoins traded. It is also accompanied by record capital outflows from Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In June alone, all major Bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $4.5 billion in investor outflows. And the total outflow since the beginning of the year has exceeded $4.7 billion, despite billions of dollars in inflows in certain months.
Months of “fear” in the crypto market
The current surge of negativity on social media is occurring against the backdrop of the market’s prolonged stay in the “fear” zone. The Fear & Greed Index, calculated by the Alternative platform, stood at 29 on August 14, which corresponds to a “fear” state.
It is worth noting that the last time the index briefly left the “fear” zone was in May and January of this year. However, sentiment subsequently deteriorated again. Prior to that, the index was in the “greed” zone—that is, a positive market sentiment—on October 10, 2025, the day of the crypto market’s biggest crash, which led to liquidations of trading positions totaling at least $19 billion.
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