The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which gauges market emotions on a scale from 0 to 100, reached a low score of 22 on September 6, indicating a notable seven-point drop from the previous day when sentiment was classified as “fear.” This score marks the lowest level since it recorded a score of 20 on August 8 and is the first time it has entered the “extreme fear” category since August 12, when it recorded a score of 25.

Crypto Market Sentiment Chart

Market sentiment has fluctuated significantly between fear and greed since June. Source: alternative.me

Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a decline of 2.7% over the past 24 hours, briefly hitting a low of $55,838 after falling from above $58,000, resulting in a loss of approximately $29.7 billion in its market capitalization. It has recently rebounded slightly, trading at around $56,533.

Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of the crypto exchange BitMEX, stated in a recent post, “BTC is heavy. I’m gunning for sub $50k this weekend. I took a cheeky short,” highlighting his bearish outlook.

Arthur Hayes Prediction

Source: Arthur Hayes

Amidst these fluctuations, Bitcoin struggles to muster momentum due to rising concerns about the sluggish performance of the U.S. economy. Recent U.S. jobs data released on September 5 fell short of economic forecasts, intensifying worries regarding a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

In the wake of Bitcoin’s recent downward trend, other major cryptocurrencies have also taken a hit. Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 2.23%, Solana (SOL) declined 2.82%, and XRP fell by 2.19%. This widespread decrease in value resulted in approximately $94.26 million worth of liquidations in the past day, particularly impacting those who had bet on a rising Bitcoin price, according to CoinGlass.

Liquidation Data

Bitcoin and Ether long positions accounted for a substantial portion of the day’s liquidations. Source: CoinGlass

In total, over $71 million worth of long positions were liquidated, including approximately $36.71 million in Bitcoin long positions — nearly 40% of the day’s total. This was followed by $17.36 million in liquidated Ethereum long positions.