Fear & Greed versus the degen index: why we run two thermometers

The Fear & Greed Index is the crypto market's standard thermometer: volatility, volumes, dominance, and social media roll up into a 0-100 scale from "extreme fear" to "greed". We keep a second one next to it - our own degen index, which measures not the market but its underground: fresh memecoin activity, the pace of new listings, social signals, the temperature of the degen segment.

Why two

Because they regularly diverge - and the divergence is more informative than either index alone. The classic F&G in fear while the degen index is burning - the underground is pumping memes against the general pessimism: historically that is the late phase of a local bottom, when risk appetite returns from the bottom up. The opposite skew - F&G in greed while the degens sleep - growth without a speculative tail, usually institutional flows; steadier but duller.

How to use it

• The scales agree - the market is homogeneous, no signals.
• F&G low + degen high - watch for risk returning: the underground wakes up first.
• F&G high + degen low - growth "from above": too early to expect junk pumps.
• Both at the greed extreme - the classic profit-taking zone.

Both indices live in the header of the markets section and update automatically.