- Harvard University increased its holdings in the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust to about $443 million as of September 30.
- Emory University also expanded its Bitcoin ETF positions, including shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust.
- These moves indicate a growing trend among university endowments investing in regulated Bitcoin ETFs despite recent outflows in the sector.
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced significant outflows totaling over $1.3 billion during one week in late September 2025.
In the third quarter of 2025, Harvard Management Company notably increased its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), holding 6.8 million shares valued around $443 million as of September 30. This reflects a rise from 1.9 million shares reported just three months earlier. The Bitcoin ETF allocation is a small portion of Harvard’s $56.9 billion endowment but marks a strategic shift toward cryptocurrency exposure. The position details are included in a Form 13F filing.
Similarly, Emory University increased its Bitcoin ETF holdings. Its third-quarter filing revealed 1 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust valued at about $52 million, doubling from the previous quarter. Emory also maintained a smaller holding of 4,450 IBIT shares, worth approximately $289,000. This information is available in Emory’s quarterly SEC disclosure.
Other higher education institutions are joining this trend. For example, Brown University holds approximately $13.8 million in IBIT shares, as detailed in its 13F filing.
Despite recent market volatility, with the price of Bitcoin falling from $107,000 to below $95,000 in late September 2025, spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced notable outflows. Data from Farside Investors show that 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs lost nearly $867 million on a single day, the second-largest since their SEC approval in January 2024. Another $462 million exited these funds the following day.
The adoption of regulated Bitcoin ETFs has allowed institutional investors, including universities, to hold Bitcoin-related assets within traditional portfolios. This shift contrasts with direct Bitcoin holdings by corporations or governments and is facilitated by the regulated structure of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
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