Harvard Endowment Bets Big: $116M Plunge Into BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF

Ivy League money meets crypto's wild west—Harvard just dropped a nine-figure vote of confidence in Bitcoin.

The $116 million move into BlackRock's ETF screams institutional adoption, but let's see how long it takes before some trustee panics at the first 10% dip.

Wall Street's playing catch-up while the endowment team stacks sats. Who needs alumni donations when you've got asymmetric returns?

Harvard’s bitcoin allocation revealed

According to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Harvard held approximately 1.9 million shares of the iShares bitcoin ETF as of June 30, 2025.

This allocation made bitcoin the fifth-largest holding in the endowment, behind Microsoft, Amazon, Booking Holdings, and Meta.

Harvard’s endowment stood at $53.2 billion as of mid-2024, outpacing other elite universities like Yale and Stanford.

Trend among university endowments

While Harvard’s allocation is notable, it follows a broader trend.

Emory University reported exposure to digital asset funds in 2024, purchasing 2.7 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust.

Universities have been increasingly considering bitcoin as part of diversified portfolios.

Harvard’s endowment managers have previously emphasized the need to prepare for volatility in asset allocations.

Robert Kaplan, a Harvard professor, explained the fund’s approach:

“The endowment and its asset allocation is set up to anticipate you’re gonna have some volatile periods.”

ETF approval and institutional demand

The U.S. SEC approved the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF and ten other spot bitcoin funds in January 2024, sparking a surge in institutional interest.

The iShares Bitcoin ETF has since grown to over $86 billion in net assets, according to BlackRock data.

For up-to-date data on institutional ETF holdings, see the BlackRock holdings tracker.

Options expansion may fuel growth

The SEC recently increased the maximum number of allowed options contracts on ETFs—including the iShares Bitcoin ETF—from 25,000 to 250,000.

Some analysts believe this expansion could further boost institutional demand and trading volumes for bitcoin ETFs.