BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said Bitcoin’s long-term investment appeal remains intact even after the token fell about 50% from last year’s peak.

Bitcoin Magazine reported on August 18 that Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, wrote in a report that the recent selloff in Bitcoin was driven mainly by deleveraging within the digital-asset market and shifts in capital flows. Bitcoin’s core investment thesis as an important global monetary alternative and a distinct portfolio diversifier has not changed, he wrote.

BlackRock also said Bitcoin fell about 50% from its record high in October last year through the middle of this year, but has maintained low correlation with traditional risk assets over the long term. Any short-term tendency to move in tandem with risk assets is a temporary effect of deleveraging rather than a structural shift, the firm added.

For that reason, BlackRock said it remains bullish on Bitcoin. The report said Bitcoin can serve as a global monetary alternative and a potential hedge against declines in fiat-currency values. It remains attractive as a strategic portfolio diversification tool for long-term investors, according to the report.