Beyond individual coin prices, traders watch market-wide indicators to gauge the overall mood. Two of the most popular are Bitcoin dominance and the Fear & Greed Index — both shown at the top of every page on this site.
What is Bitcoin dominance?
Bitcoin dominance is Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market capitalization. If the entire market is worth $2 trillion and Bitcoin accounts for $1.2 trillion, dominance is 60%. Rising dominance often means money is flowing into Bitcoin (a "flight to safety"), while falling dominance can signal an "altcoin season" where smaller coins like Ethereum outperform.
What is the Fear & Greed Index?
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index condenses market sentiment into a single number from 0 to 100. Low values (Extreme Fear) suggest investors are nervous and prices may be depressed; high values (Extreme Greed) suggest excitement and possible overvaluation. It is built from signals such as volatility, momentum, social media and market volume.
How to use them
These indicators are context, not signals. Contrarian investors sometimes see extreme fear as a potential opportunity and extreme greed as a warning sign — but markets can stay fearful or greedy for a long time. Use them alongside the fundamentals covered in our guide on reading crypto prices.
Where to watch them
Both values update automatically in the stats bar at the top of LiveCryptos.net, alongside the total market cap and 24-hour volume. New to crypto? Start with our beginner's guide. Remember: this is educational content, not financial advice.