Bitcoin Bull Score Hits 80 as Sentiment Flips to ‘Extreme Greed’

Bitcoin News

Bitcoin (BTC) has entered what analysts describe as the early stages of a new bull market, following a 24% price rally that pushed multiple on-chain indicators into bullish territory. CryptoQuant’s Bull Score Index climbed from 30 to 80 over the past week, its highest reading since October 2025. Eight of the index’s 10 underlying indicators are now signaling bullish conditions.

Despite the rally pushing BTCabove $80,000, CryptoQuant said a sustained weekly close above the 365-day moving average, currently sitting near $83,000, is required to confirm the transition into a full bull market cycle. LMAX Group market strategist Joel Kruger pointed to the May 2026 high of $82,820 as the next key level to watch. “A clear break above that level would reinforce the view that a meaningful cycle low is now in place and shift attention towards the next major move through $100,000,” Kruger told Cointelegraph.

The rally has been accompanied by spot and futures demand growing at the same time, something that had not occurred since early October 2025 Broader market sentiment has also shifted sharply. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, tracked on CoinMarketCap, rose to 81, crossing into Extreme Greed territory for the first time since late 2024. One month earlier, the same index stood at 36, firmly in the fear zone

What Triggered the Rally

The price breakout traces back to Aug. 20, when the US Treasury announced it would double its long-bond buyback operations from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation, effective Sept. 9. The move weakened the dollar and drew investors toward Bitcoin as a hedge. As BTC broke through $70,000, more than $4 billion in short positions were liquidated over two to three days. Bitcoinexchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their largest single day of inflows since May 2026, and Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs together pulled in roughly $2.3 billion during the period.
The Fear and Greed Index bottomed at five on Feb. 5, 2026, its lowest point of the year. The climb from that level to 81 represents the fastest swing from Extreme Fear to Extreme Greed since CoinMarketCap began tracking the index. Bitcoin’s 24% weekly gain outpaced the broader crypto market, a disparity reflected in Bitcoin’s rising share of total crypto market capitalization.

Related Article: Bitcoin, Ethereum Rally 20%+ — Is the Crypto Bear Market Over?

Whale Profit-Taking Adds Short-Term Risk

Not all signals point in the same direction. CryptoQuant flagged several indicators that suggest the rally may be overheated in the near term. Traders’ unrealized profit margins climbed to 20.5%, their highest level since June 2025. CryptoQuant noted that Bitcoin dropped roughly 30% after the same metric hit 19% in early May 2026, when BTC was trading near $82,000.

Short-term holder whales realized approximately $1.2 billion in profits between Aug. 20 and Aug. 22, 2026. That included a single-day record of $614 million on Aug. 20, when Bitcoin was trading between $78,000 and $79,000. Bitcoin exchange inflows also climbed to around 53,000 BTC, the highest level since June 2026, a sign that more coins are moving onto trading platforms where they can be sold.

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Source: coinmarketcap.com