{"id":22791,"date":"2026-02-18T02:39:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T02:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=22791"},"modified":"2026-02-18T02:39:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T02:39:28","slug":"bitcoin-ventures-into-extreme-fear-territory-and-thats-not-a-bad-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=22791","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin ventures into extreme fear territory \u2013 and that\u2019s not a bad thing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/iframe.iono.fm\/e\/1647106?layout=modern\" width=\"100%\" height=\"170\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.<\/p>\n<p>The bitcoin Fear and Greed Index has plunged into \u2018Extreme Fear\u2019. Just a few months ago it was firmly in Greed.<\/p>\n<p>Those who follow the index know that periods of Extreme Fear have historically been a good time to buy. Bitcoin whales have started to buy again at these low prices, another indicator that the violent market sell-off of the last few months may be exhausting itself.<\/p>\n<p>Listen\/read:<br \/>Is now a good time to buy crypto bundles?<br \/>Is this a crypto winter \u2013 and if so, when will it be over?<\/p>\n<p>Christo de Wit, SA country manager at Luno, walks us through the index and what it means.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an indicator of overall market sentiment,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it\u2019s not all doom and gloom. Usually in these crypto cycles, when there\u2019s extreme fear and we see a downturn in the market, that\u2019s when those crypto whales start accumulating more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a more than 50% drawdown, institutions and whales are starting to re-enter the market, which is typical for this stage in the market cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Crypto bear markets have traditionally meant lower volumes for local exchanges, but this time is a bit different, says De Wit.<\/p>\n<p>Listen\/read: You\u2019ve accumulated some crypto, but how do you spend it?<\/p>\n<p>The market downturn coincided with the seasonal December drop-off in volumes, but it happened so fast that volumes are now starting to return as buyers are on the hunt for bargains.<\/p>\n<p>Listen\/read: What\u2019s your preferred crypto exchange?<\/p>\n<p>Another factor weighing on the bitcoin price is the four-yearly \u201chalving\u201d event \u2013 when bitcoin issuance reduces by half, thereby creating scarcity. The last halving was in April 2024, meaning we are now nearly two years away from the next halving.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, bull markets tend to emerge a year or more ahead of these events.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>De Wit expects bitcoin to range sideways in the coming months, though this is dependent on events in the wider market \u2013 such as geopolitical tensions, interest rates and economic growth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAnother point that is very interesting: if we compare this cycle to some of the previous cycles, all of the downturns that in previous cycles were based on internal indicators, meaning it was crypto industry-specific instances that led to the downturn of the market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the previous biggest downturn \u2013 I think you will remember very well, was in 2022 with the collapse of FTX, when the crypto market as a whole was in complete shock.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis time around, we are not seeing a crypto-specific event driving this. This [downturn] is more macro-related. Also, we see this decoupling from other asset classes and that crypto is now more behaving like tech stocks and other riskier assets. So there\u2019s also a very interesting change in pace that we\u2019re seeing as we observe the market at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>There\u2019s also been a decoupling between bitcoin and gold, which rocketed above $5\u00a0000 an ounce in the past month.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"182\" data-end=\"479\"><span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">De Wit<\/span><\/span>\u00a0also discusses the entry of banks into the crypto market, pointing to <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Discovery Bank<\/span><\/span>\u2019s tie-up with <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Luno<\/span><\/span>, which allows customers to purchase crypto assets directly through their banking app.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"481\" data-end=\"871\">He also highlights <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Absa<\/span><\/span>\u2019s collaboration with <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Ripple<\/span><\/span> \u2013 the company behind the crypto token <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">XRP<\/span><\/span> \u2013 which could form a crucial part of cross-border and inter-bank payments in the future.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"481\" data-end=\"871\">Absa has also announced the piloting of its own stablecoin as a test for potential future use among its clients.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"481\" data-end=\"871\">Listen\/read:<br \/>Absa\u2019s bold leap into stablecoins<br \/>Are SA banks about to enter the crypto market?<br \/>New rand-backed stablecoin launched<br \/>Discovery Bank announces crypto trading, motor insurance and new rewards partners<\/p>\n<p>Luno was also one of the partners in the February 2026 launch of ZARU, a rand-pegged stablecoin with Standard Bank, acting as custodian and Sanlam Specialised Asset Management serving as asset and liability manager.<\/p>\n<p>The stablecoin\u2019s reserves are audited monthly by <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Moore Johannesburg<\/span><\/span> for transparency and full redeemability. ZARU is aimed at institutional cross-border flows as well as domestic transfers, with the aim of competing with USD- and EUR-pegged stablecoins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you look at where cryptocurrency is going and what the future holds, this downturn in the market is just a mere ripple, right?\u201d says <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">De Wit.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAnd I think that the banks are not necessarily too spooked about it as they are continuing [with] their crypto projects. And we are seeing that convergence of the crypto industry and the traditional finance sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This holds huge potential for companies like Luno.<\/p>\n<p>De Wit says the company\u2019s focus is on adding more products to its existing suite of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, xStocks and new yield-bearing products that allow crypto holders to earn a return.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re working really hard this year to look at how our platform is performing. Is it ideal and fit for purpose for professional traders? Are we able to improve that to make a better experience? We\u2019re looking at some yield products that could potentially see the light of day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read:<br \/>Luno launches tokenised US stocks<br \/>How tokenised stocks will reshape investment in South Africa<\/p>\n<p>Luno now has nearly 16 million customers worldwide and about six million in SA. Having built a formidable footprint in the retail market, it is now focused on expanding that into the institutional space.<\/p>\n<p>For previous Moneyweb Crypto Pod episodes,\u00a0click\u00a0here.<\/p>\n<p>You can also sign up for our\u00a0crypto newsletter.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\">\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n                if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n                n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n                t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n                s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '779812924991616');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script>#Bitcoin #ventures #extreme #fear #territory #bad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can also listen to this po&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[744,95,6628,7211,5576,6937],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}