I saw a beginner ask yesterday: Why has ETH been stuck at the $2,054 level for so long? It only dropped 0.10%, but the market sentiment is so bad?

This brings us to the Fear and Greed Index. Currently, this index is only 9 points, indicating an "Extreme Fear" state. Many people think that a slight price dip isn't a big deal, but this index considers multiple factors such as trading volume, volatility, market momentum, and social media sentiment.
Look at today's ETH data, which is quite interesting: the price is fluctuating between $2,017 and $2,077, with a volatility of 3%, but the 24-hour trading volume is only 545 million USDT. What does this indicate? Everyone is waiting and watching; no one dares to buy or sell heavily.
Extreme fear often appears at market bottoms, and history shows this many times. During the end of the 2018 bear market and after the sharp drop in March 2020, the fear index was in the single digits. But note that fear can persist for a while; just because today’s score is 9 doesn’t mean it will rebound tomorrow.
For ordinary investors, periods of extreme fear are actually good times to learn and prepare. When the market is calm, you can more rationally study project fundamentals and develop investment strategies. After all, Warren Buffett said, "Be fearful when others are greedy," but that’s only if you’ve done your homework.