Rick Rieder (릭 리더) of BlackRock kept his bullish outlook for bitcoin despite a sharp slide.

On June 16, blockchain outlet U.Today reported that Rieder, BlackRock's global bond chief investment officer and head of its global asset allocation team, appeared on Bloomberg ETF IQ and said he remains optimistic on bitcoin.

Rieder played down short-term volatility even as bitcoin is down more than 45 percent from its all-time high. He said bitcoin will eventually rise to a higher level and judged it could reach a new record high again.

He explained that BlackRock is keeping its bitcoin exposure conservative. While acknowledging that the market's technical trend is rough, he said the portfolio weighting is managed at a fairly restrained level. He said he is also looking at technology stocks, some growth drivers, parts of the credit market and emerging markets, but ultimately expects bitcoin prices to rise further.

Rieder said money from institutional and individual investors has not yet entered the market in earnest, and viewed that as a backdrop to the bullish trend. With $8 trillion to $9 trillion in cash piled up in money market funds, he said funds could be rapidly reallocated on the back of large trades or an improvement in investor sentiment.

Rieder's view of bitcoin is less an aggressive price bet and closer to its role as an alternative asset with characteristics different from traditional asset classes. Given its volatility, the approach is to seek long-term return opportunities within a limited range rather than raising its weighting to a level that would shake the entire portfolio. That aligns with a trend of institutional investors considering bitcoin as part of asset allocation rather than a short-term trading asset.

Optimism from large managers such as BlackRock could also affect market sentiment. The fact that major institutions keep a positive view even when bitcoin prices undergo a sharp correction is a factor that prompts a fresh look at the possibility of a recovery in supply and demand after a downturn. But such a forecast does not mean an immediate price rebound, and actual market moves could differ depending on liquidity conditions and whether appetite for risk assets returns.

Ultimately, Rieder's remarks are seen as focusing less on bitcoin's short-term price outlook and more on where liquidity still in the market will move. With both stock and cryptocurrency markets able to react sensitively to inflows of sidelined cash, whether investors cut cash allocations and move back into risk assets is expected to be a key variable in bitcoin's recovery.