Harvard University increased its investment in the exchange-traded fund For Bitcoin (Bitcoin ETF) rose 257% during the third quarter, making the iShares Bitcoin Trust Fund its largest announced investment, as it purchased 6.8 million shares worth $442.8 million as of September 30.
The move represents one of the most significant institutional endorsements of Bitcoin (BTC) exposure among prestigious university endowments, and as such, Harvard ranks as the 16th largest shareholder in the BlackRock-managed fund.
The latest Form 13F shows Harvard increased its stake in the fund from the 1.9 million shares reported in June, while increasing its gold ETF holdings by 99%, to 661,391 shares worth $235 million.
Bloomberg exchange-traded fund (ETF) analyst Eric Balchunas noted the scarcity of large endowments investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), describing this as “The best support an exchange-traded fund can get“.
I just checked and yeah $IBIT is now Harvard’s largest position in its 13F and its largest position increase in the third quarter. It’s very rare/difficult to get an endowment to bite into an ETF – especially at Harvard or Yale, it’s as good a validation as an ETF can be. That said, half a billion is… pic.twitter.com/yw0tRcD1ad
– Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 15, 2025
Institutional transformation signals a reversal of academic skepticism
Harvard’s large allocation to Bitcoin clearly contrasts with previous positions of some faculty members in the economics department.
In 2018, Kenneth Rogoff, an economics professor at Harvard University and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, said that Bitcoin was more likely to trade at $100 than to reach $100,000 in the next decade.
Rogoff told CNBC: “I think the value of Bitcoin will be a very small fraction of what it is today in 10 years.“, adding that the elimination of money laundering and tax evasion will make its use wider in transactions. “Very little“.
He stressed that government regulation would lead to lower prices, while acknowledging that developing such regulatory frameworks globally would take some time. Rogoff recently reconsidered his previous assessment, admitting that he misjudged Bitcoin’s role in the global informal economy and downplayed regulatory conflicts of interest.
Nearly a decade ago, I was the Harvard economist who said bitcoin was more likely to be worth $100 than $100,000. What did I miss? I was far too optimistic that the United States would come to its senses when it came to sensible regulation of cryptocurrencies; why would political decision-makers want to make taxation easier…
– Kenneth S Rogoff (@krogoff) August 19, 2025
On this subject, Rogoff wrote in the new book Our Dollar, Your Problem: “I was very optimistic that the United States would come to its senses regarding a sound regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies.”.
He added: “I did not expect that regulators, especially top regulators, would be able to openly hold hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in cryptocurrencies without apparent consequences, despite blatant conflicts of interest.”.
For his part, Balchunas highlighted this contrast between Rogoff’s previous positions and Harvard’s current investment, saying: No. Bitcoin supporters seemed “They feel very comfortable” See this level of institutional adoption by one of the largest universities in the world.
The deal, worth about $443 million, represents about 0.75 percent of Harvard’s $57 billion endowment. However, Bitwise analyst Ryan Rasmussen predicts that this percentage will increase to 1% and eventually 5% as more large academic institutions enter the market.
Harvard’s $443 million bitcoin investment represents about 0.75% of its endowment.
Ivy League Endowments:
-Harvard: $57 billion
– Yale: $44 billion
– Princeton: $36 billion
– Penn: $25 billion
– Colombia: $16 billion
– Cornell: $12 billion
– Dartmouth: $9 billion
-Brown: $8 billion
This 0.75% will become 1%. Then 5%. And the others will follow.– Ryan Rasmussen (@RasterlyRock) November 14, 2025
Bitcoin is adopted by universities and government pension funds
Harvard University has joined a growing group of institutional investors working to increase their exposure to cryptocurrencies through regulated investment vehicles.
The Michigan State Retirement System tripled its Bitcoin ETF stock holdings to 300,000 shares worth $11.4 million during the fiscal second quarter, while maintaining a $13.6 million position in Ethereum-ETH through Grayscale Ethereum Trust.
As for the Wisconsin State Investment Board, it owns more than 6 million shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, worth approximately $387.3 million, making it one of the largest state pension funds to invest in Bitcoin-related products.
Meanwhile, in 2024, Emory University unveiled a $15 million investment in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust, becoming one of the first major US universities to announce an investment in cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (Crypto ETFs).
The University of Austin is launching a $5 million Bitcoin investment fund for its endowment. #Bitcoin #UniversityofAustinhttps://t.co/irIOkR2Bay
– Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) February 10, 2025
In addition to traditional universities, the University of Austin launched a dedicated $5 million Bitcoin fund within its $200 million endowment in February, becoming the first U.S. university endowment to establish a Bitcoin-focused investment.
Meanwhile, Pantera Capital reports that its endowment and philanthropic clients have grown eightfold since 2018, while Yale University was an early investor in cryptocurrency-related venture capital funds during the early stages of the Bitcoin price cycle.
Despite growing institutional adoption, some institutional investors remain cautious. Eswar Prasad, professor of economics at Cornell University, warned that digital currencies are still… “Financial assets that rely on pure speculation and do not offer a significant hedge compared to other risky assets. »Highlighting that its volatility even exceeds the volatility of traditional high-risk assets.
Brian Neale of the University of Nebraska Foundation also told the Financial Times that he does not consider cryptocurrencies an asset class. “Suitable for institutional investments“ Due to limited adoption by traditional asset managers.
The article Harvard University’s Biggest Investment: Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (Bitcoin ETF) After Raising Stake by 257% appeared first on Cryptonews Arabic.
