Bitcoin ETF Rises to Harvard’s Leading Investment Following 257% Stake Growth

Harvard University has increased its Bitcoin ETF holdings by 257% during the third quarter, positioning the iShares Bitcoin Trust as its largest disclosed investment with 6.8 million shares valued at $442.8 million as of September 30.

This action signifies one of the most notable institutional endorsements of Bitcoin exposure among prestigious university endowments, placing Harvard as the 16th-largest holder of the BlackRock-managed fund.

The most recent 13F filing indicates that Harvard raised its stake from 1.9 million shares reported in June, while also expanding its gold ETF holdings by 99% to 661,391 shares worth $235 million.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted the unusual nature of elite endowments investing in ETFs, describing it as “as good a validation as an ETF can get.”

Just checked and yeah $IBIT is now Harvard’s largest position in its 13F and its biggest position increase in Q3. It’s super rare/difficult to get an endowment to bite on an ETF- esp a Harvard or Yale, it’s as good a validation as an ETF can get. That said, half a billion is a… https://t.co/oTiSL29llB pic.twitter.com/yw0tRcD1ad

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 15, 2025

Institutional Shift Marks Reversal of Academic Skepticism

Harvard’s significant Bitcoin investment contrasts with earlier forecasts from its own economics faculty.

Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, remarked in 2018 that Bitcoin was more likely to trade at $100 than $100,000 within a decade.

“I think bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we’re headed out 10 years from now,” Rogoff told CNBC, adding that eliminating money laundering and tax evasion would leave Bitcoin with “very small” transaction applications.

He contended that government regulation would lead to price declines, although he recognized that such frameworks would require time to develop globally.

Rogoff recently revisited his previous assessment, admitting that he had underestimated Bitcoin’s role in the global underground economy and the regulatory conflicts of interest.

Almost a decade ago I was the Harvard economist that said that bitcoin was more likely to be worth $100 than 100k. What did I miss? I was far too optimistic about the US coming to its senses about sensible cryptocurrency regulation; why would policymakers want to facilitate tax…

— Kenneth S Rogoff (@krogoff) August 19, 2025

“I was far too optimistic about the US coming to its senses about sensible cryptocurrency regulation,” he stated in his new book Our Dollar, Your Problem.

He added that he “did not foresee a scenario where regulators, and especially the regulator in chief, would be able to brazenly hold hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in cryptocurrencies seemingly without consequence given the blatant conflict of interest.”

Balchunas referred to Rogoff’s earlier skepticism, noting it “must feel so great” for Bitcoin supporters to witness Harvard’s institutional endorsement.

The $443 million investment accounts for approximately 0.75% of Harvard’s $57 billion endowment.

However, Bitwise analyst Ryan Rasmussen anticipates that this allocation will increase to 1% and eventually 5% as peer institutions follow suit.

Harvard’s $443M bitcoin investment is ~0.75% of its endowment.
Ivy League Endowments:
– Harvard: $57B
– Yale: $44B
– Princeton: $36B
– Penn: $25B
– Columbia: $16B
– Cornell: $12B
– Dartmouth: $9B
– Brown: $8B
That 0.75% will become 1%. Then 5%. And the others will follow.

— Ryan Rasmussen (@RasterlyRock) November 14, 2025

University and State Pension Adoption

Harvard is part of a growing group of institutional investors increasing their cryptocurrency exposure through regulated investment vehicles.

The State of Michigan Retirement System tripled its Bitcoin ETF holdings to 300,000 shares valued at $11.4 million in the second quarter, while maintaining a $13.6 million Ethereum position through the Grayscale Ethereum Trust.

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board holds over 6 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, valued at approximately $387.3 million, making it one of the largest state pension allocations to Bitcoin-linked products.

Meanwhile, Emory University revealed a $15 million investment in the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust in 2024, becoming one of the first major US endowments to disclose crypto ETF exposure.

The University of Austin is launching a $5M 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 initiated a dedicated $5 million Bitcoin fund within its $200 million endowment in February, becoming the first US university endowment to create a Bitcoin-focused investment.

At that time, Pantera Capital reported an eight-fold increase in endowment and foundation clients since 2018, while Yale University invested in crypto venture funds during Bitcoin’s earlier price levels.

Despite the increasing adoption, some institutional investors remain cautious. Cornell University professor Eswar Prasad cautioned that cryptocurrency remains a “purely speculative financial asset and one that doesn’t provide very much hedging relative to other risky assets,” with volatility surpassing that of traditional risky assets.

Brian Neale of the University of Nebraska Foundation informed the Financial Times that he does not view cryptocurrency as an “institutionally investable” asset class due to limited adoption among traditional allocators.

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