Harvard Triples Its Bitcoin Position as Emory Expands BTC ETF Holdings

Harvard University dramatically increased its exposure to Bitcoin in the third quarter, substantially increasing its position in BlackRock’s market-leading crypto ETF.

According to a Form 13F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Harvard Management Company held 6.8 million shares of BlackRock‘s iShares Bitcoin Trust as of September 30. The position was valued at approximately $442.8 million, with his participation from 1,906,000 shares reported on June 30.

The allocation was small compared to Harvard’s $56.9 billion endowment, but it highlights a change in the school’s investment strategy and view towards Bitcoin.

While corporations and the governments they were more willing to establish Bitcoin treasurersBitcoin-related direct positions began to appear in filings after spot Bitcoin ETFs it offered a regulated structure that endowments could hold like any other stock.

Harvard is one of a growing number of universities allocating funds to invest in Bitcoin ETFs. Others include Brown Universitythat holds $13.8 million in IBIT actions, while Emory University recently reported a similar adjustment at Harvard.

Emory’s third quarter filing listed 1 million shares of the Gray scale Bitcoin Mini Trust valued at $52 million, up from just under half of that amount in the previous quarter. Emory also disclosed a small position of 4,450 in iShares Bitcoin Trust shares worth approximately $289,000.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen strong flows this week. The 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs lost almost $867 million on Thursday, the second-highest one-day total by the SEC approved them in January 2024. Another $ 462 million left the funds on Friday, as of Farside Investors.

Despite a rocky week for Bitcoin, which started the week at $107,000 before falling below $95,000 on Friday, the college endowment disclosures reflect a longer-term investment play backed by BlackRock’s popular ETF.