Harvard Endowment Invests $443M in Bitcoin via BlackRock's IBIT
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Harvard University's endowment has made a significant move by investing $443 million in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, known as IBIT. This investment, disclosed in the university's latest 13F filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, comprises 6.8 million shares of IBIT as of the third quarter of 2025. Notably, this position accounts for just over 20% of Harvard's reported U.S.-listed public equity holdings.
Typically, institutional investors like Harvard tend to shy away from exchange-traded funds, preferring private equity, real estate, and direct investments. Therefore, this leap into IBIT is particularly striking.
For context, Harvard's entire endowment exceeds $55 billion, meaning this investment represents less than 1% of their total assets, yet it positions Harvard among the top 20 holders of the fund according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
The timing of this investment is noteworthy, as it comes during a turbulent period for Bitcoin, which has seen its price drop over 5% in the past week, hovering around $96,000. IBIT is recognized as the world's largest spot Bitcoin ETF, boasting nearly $75 billion in net assets according to SoSoValue data.
This strategic allocation into Bitcoin by such a prestigious institution could signal a shift in the attitudes of institutional investors towards cryptocurrencies, potentially influencing other endowments and investors to follow suit.
The implications of this investment extend beyond Harvard, as it may set a precedent for how other academic and institutional investors approach digital assets in the future. In a landscape often characterized by volatility, this move highlights the evolving nature of investment strategies in the cryptocurrency space, particularly among historically conservative institutions.
As Harvard embraces this digital asset, the broader implications for the cryptocurrency market and institutional investment strategies are profound, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing narrative of cryptocurrency chaos.