According to a chart shared by Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer, Bitcoin's momentum has collapsed because it is behaving as a high-beta "risk-on" asset that is suffering disproportionately during a broader market correction.
Gold (the yellow line) is acting as a "shield" (safe haven), but Bitcoin is acting as a "lever" (risk amplifier).
In late 2025, investors are "de-risking." When fear enters the market, liquidity tends to drive up. Investors sell their most speculative, volatile assets first to raise cash. Bitcoin, being the most volatile asset on this chart, suffers the hardest hit, causing its momentum to collapse much faster than the S&P 500.
Bitcoin, which is tightly correlated with liquidity and cheap money, struggles when monetary conditions tighten.
Earlier today, the leading cryptocurrency collapsed to the $86,000 level, with altcoins taking an even bigger hit. The cryptocurrency is now down a whopping 31% from its record high that was achieved on Oct. 6.
Complete failure of "digital gold" narrative
The chart shows a critical failure of Bitcoin to act as "digital gold" during this specific period.
After experiencing a minor correction, gold is currently doing its job as a store of value during market stress.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, is trending down, failing to act as a hedge. The cryptocurrency is essentially viewed as a technology/growth proxy,
As reported by U.Today, Timmer previously predicted that gold could potentially pass the baton to Bitcoin in the second half of the year, but BTC ended up collapsing sharply lower.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team