Bitcoin Is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Fidelity Says as Bitcoin Price Hovers Near $85,000

Jurrien Timmer just gave Bitcoin a literary twist, calling it a cross between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The comparison isn’t just for flair. It reflects what many investors already feel: Bitcoin can’t decide if it’s a safe haven or a wild bet. While gold shows up to the party as predictable as ever, the Bitcoin price can flip between calm and chaos. Still, Fidelity’s Timmer message is clear: Bitcoin’s dual nature is exactly why it deserves a place in modern portfolios.

Bitcoin’s Double Identity, and Why It Still Belongs in Portfolios

According to Jurrien Timmer, Bitcoin wears two faces. One is a modern store of value, similar to gold in function, if not in form. The other is a high-volatility, high-reward asset that swings with market sentiment. It’s that unpredictability that prompted the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde analogy. Gold remains what he calls “hard money and nothing else.” Bitcoin price, however, is still defining itself, sometimes disciplined, sometimes explosive.

Gold and Bitcoin continue to play musical chairs with each other, as the Sharpe Ratios show below. While gold is hard money and nothing else, Bitcoin is aspirational hard money but also a speculative asset. Therefore, while we always know which gold is going to show up for the… pic.twitter.com/pYjK6Jd5lk

— Jurrien Timmer (@TimmerFidelity) April 17, 2025

This makes Bitcoin breakout tricky for conservative investors but attractive to those who see value in assets that adapt. In one cycle, it’s a hedge; in the next, it’s a momentum play. This duality keeps investors guessing but also explains its staying power. Timmer argues this is precisely the reason to own both Bitcoin and gold, because together, they balance certainty and optionality. Bitcoin isn’t broken; it’s evolving. And like Stevenson’s character, what makes it unpredictable is also what makes it powerful.

Why the Metaphor Matters Now

Fidelity’s metaphor lands at a moment when Bitcoin is again testing its identity. It’s hitting all-time highs one month, then retracing hard the next. For investors, this isn’t just volatility; it’s a feature of an asset that hasn’t finished evolving. Timmer’s framing doesn’t criticise Bitcoin’s split nature; it embraces it. He’s saying Bitcoin is both risk and refuge, and that paradox is what gives it strategic value.

This also reframes the volatility debate. Instead of viewing Bitcoin’s swings as a flaw, it becomes a function of its role in modern markets: part digital gold, part speculative tech asset. It’s an early-stage, forming narratives and reacting to global liquidity and risk appetite. In that sense, owning Bitcoin is like owning innovation, unpredictable but full of upside. Timmer’s point is subtle but sharp: investors don’t need Bitcoin breakout to be perfectly stable to make it worth holding. They just need to understand why it behaves the way it does and position themselves accordingly.

Bitcoin Price’s Instability Is the Point

Fidelity isn’t warning investors about Bitcoin price’s volatility; it’s validating it. The split between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde isn’t a bug; it’s the pitch. Bitcoin is both a hedge and a high-beta haven and speculation, and that duality is what gives it relevance. For modern portfolios, stability isn’t everything. Optionality matters too. And in a world of rigid assets and predictable outcomes, Bitcoin’s unpredictability might be the most strategic trait of all.