Harvard University’s endowment has been quietly and massively increasing its Bitcoin holdings.
The university bought more than 6.8 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as of September 30. The investment is valued at $442.8 million.
This marks a 257% increase from Harvard’s previous holding of 1.9 million shares, worth $116.6 million. The move makes IBIT Harvard’s largest publicly disclosed position. It is also the biggest single-quarter increase in its holdings, according the the filing.
Harvard Management Company runs the university’s $57 billion endowment. The Bitcoin ETF now represents just under 1% of total endowment assets.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said it is “super rare” for a university to invest in an ETF. He added that the stake is “as good a validation as an ETF can get.”
Despite Bitcoin’s recent price drop below $93,000, the move signals growing institutional acceptance. IBIT remains the world’s largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with nearly $75 billion in net assets.
Harvard also increased its gold exposure. The endowment nearly doubled its holding in SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) to 661,391 shares, worth $235.1 million.
Other major holdings remain in U.S. tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet. The endowment also added positions in Klarna ($16.8 million) and Taiwan Semiconductor ($59.1 million).
The increase in Bitcoin and gold allocations highlights Harvard’s focus on portfolio diversification. Analysts see this as part of a wider institutional trend. Bitwise analyst Ryan Rasmussen said the stake may grow to 1% or even 5% as peer institutions follow.
Institutions other then Harvard are buying Bitcoin
Other institutions are also increasing Bitcoin ETF exposure. Emory University disclosed a 91% increase in its Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF holdings, totaling over $42 million.
An Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, Al Warda Investments, reported a 230% increase in IBIT holdings, now valued at $517.6 million.
Harvard’s Bitcoin move is rare but significant. Institutional investors traditionally avoid ETFs, preferring private equity, real estate, or direct investments.
The university’s entry could encourage similar strategies across other endowments, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price is nearing $92,000, putting it almost 30% below its all-time high near $126,000 — a level referenced in earlier market coverage. The drop follows weeks of sharp selling, with BTC sliding from the mid-110,000s — where it was trading when panic hit and rumors swirled about large institutional outflows — to its current lows.
