Harvard’s Major Crypto Investment
Harvard Management Company, overseeing the university’s $53.2-billion endowment, has disclosed a $116-million position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF. According to a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, the endowment held roughly 1.9 million shares of the fund as of June 30, 2024.
This investment ranks as Harvard’s fifth-largest holding for the period, following Microsoft, Amazon, Booking Holdings, and Meta.
Largest University Endowment in the US
As of mid-2024, Harvard’s endowment remained the largest among US universities, ahead of Yale, Stanford, and Princeton. Historically, the fund’s portfolio has focused on long-term strategies designed to weather market volatility.
While technology companies dominate its top holdings in 2025, Harvard had reportedly explored crypto investments as early as 2018.
Early Institutional Moves into Crypto
In 2024, Emory University became one of the first US institutions to disclose digital asset ETF holdings, purchasing $15 million worth of Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust shares.
Harvard’s move signals growing acceptance of Bitcoin ETFs among large-scale institutional investors.
From SEC Approval to Widespread Adoption
The SEC approved the listing and trading of the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, alongside 10 similar funds, in January 2024. The iShares Bitcoin ETF has since grown to more than $86 billion in net assets.
In a recent update, the SEC increased the allowed options contracts for all ETFs with options — including BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF — from 25,000 to 250,000, a change expected to boost investor demand.
