COINOTAG News reports that, as of December 16, according to Alternative Data, the Fear and Greed Index stands at 11, down from 16 in the previous session. This reading places the market in extreme fear, a regime near the highest levels observed in almost a year, reflecting cautious trader sentiment across the crypto space.

This composite sentiment metric spans six indicators on a 0-100 scale: Volatility (25%), Market Volume (25%), Social Media Hype (15%), Market Surveys (15%), Bitcoin Dominance (10%), and Google Trends Analysis (10%).

With the latest signal, market participants may align risk controls and inventory management to the prevailing risk-off tone. While not prescriptive, the extreme fear reading historically coincides with cautious positioning and tightened liquidity, suggesting buyers could appear only on clearer capitulation or improved on-chain signals.