Harvard Endowment Reveals $116M Stake in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF

Harvard Management Company, the steward of Harvard University’s $53.2-billion endowment, has disclosed a substantial investment in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF, signaling growing institutional interest in digital assets. According to a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Harvard held roughly 1.9 million shares of the ETF as of June 30, 2024, valued at more than $116 million. This allocation positioned Bitcoin as the endowment’s fifth-largest investment for the period, trailing only Microsoft, Amazon, Booking Holdings, and Meta. This endowment remains the largest among U.S. universities, surpassing Yale, Stanford, and Princeton. While Harvard’s 2025 investment portfolio appears heavily weighted toward technology giants, its exploration of crypto exposure dates back several years. Reports suggest the university considered investing in cryptocurrency funds as early as 2018, though the move only materialized after the formal launch of regulated Bitcoin ETFs. Harvard Management Joins the Growing List The SEC’s landmark decision in January 2024 to approve the listing and trading of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs—including BlackRock’s offering—was a pivotal moment for digital asset adoption in traditional finance. Since then, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF has grown to more than $86 billion in net assets, according to the company’s latest data. Harvard’s investment mirrors a broader trend among U.S. universities cautiously entering the cryptocurrency market. In 2024, Emory University became one of the first prominent academic institutions to report exposure to digital asset ETFs, acquiring 2.7 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, worth over $15 million at the time. Robert Kaplan, a professor at Harvard Business School, previously noted that the endowment’s asset allocation strategy is designed to weather volatile market conditions—a principle that may have influenced the decision to include Bitcoin in its holdings. Regulatory Shifts Could Boost Demand The SEC announced on Tuesday that it would raise the limit on options contracts for all ETFs from 25,000 to 250,000. This change applies to the iShares Bitcoin ETF, potentially increasing its appeal to institutional investors seeking derivatives-based exposure. The combination of regulatory clarity, strong market growth, and the involvement of leading academic institutions like Harvard signals a maturing environment for Bitcoin investment. As endowments with decades-long horizons cautiously add digital assets to their portfolios, the line between traditional finance and crypto continues to blur. The post Harvard Endowment Reveals $116M Stake in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .

Source: The Coin Rise