Harvard Endowment Invests $116M in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, Making Crypto a Top Holding

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Harvard, the university with the largest endowment fund in the United States, has taken a major step into the cryptocurrency market.

In a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Harvard Management Company revealed it holds about 1.9 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) as of June 30, 2025.

Valued at more than $116 million, the investment makes Bitcoin the fifth-largest holding in the endowment, behind Microsoft, Amazon, Booking Holdings, and Meta.

Also read: BlackRock ETFs Smash Records with $107B Inflows—Even Crypto Joins the Party

With the endowment valued at $53.2 billion, Harvard remains ahead of Yale, Stanford, and Princeton in both size and now in high-profile cryptocurrency exposure.

Harvard’s Shift from Tech-Heavy to Crypto Exposure

While the university’s endowment has long been known for its heavy allocation to technology companies, the addition of the iShares Bitcoin ETF represents a strategic diversification into digital assets.

Reports suggest that Harvard had explored crypto investment opportunities as early as 2018, but this is its most significant public move to date.

To be sure, this is sizable from an ETF perspective but microscopic from Harvard's perspective. and plus we don't know if they doing some larger trade or arb with it, Still tho I'm telling you endowments are notably anti-ETF (too much The Yale Model wannabe-ism)
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) August 8, 2025

Other universities are starting to follow similar paths. In 2024, Emory University disclosed a $15-million investment in the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust. Harvard’s investment in Bitcoin now sets a new standard for elite academic institutions entering the cryptocurrency space.

SEC Approval Accelerates Harvard’s Bitcoin Investment

The SEC approved BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF and 10 other spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. Since its launch, IBIT has grown into the largest Bitcoin investment vehicle in the world, now holding over $86 billion in net assets.

Also read: Grayscale vs BlackRock: Comparing Investment Giants in Asset Management

IBIT key facts (Source: BlackRock)

Adding to its appeal, the SEC recently increased the limit on options contracts for all ETFs — including IBIT — from 25,000 to 250,000. This regulatory change could significantly increase demand for Bitcoin ETFs, benefiting the university’s latest investment.

Author

Steven Walgenbach

Steven's passion for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology began in 2014, inspiring him to immerse himself in the field. He notably secured a top 5 world ranking in robotics. While he initially pursued a computer science degree at the University of Texas at Arlington, he chose to pause his studies after two semesters to take a more hands-on approach in advancing cryptocurrency technology. During this period, he actively worked on multiple patents related to cryptocurrency and blockchain. Additionally, Steven has explored various areas of the financial sector, including banking and financial markets, developing prototypes such as fully autonomous trading bots and intuitive interfaces that streamline blockchain integration, among other innovations.

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