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While the allocation remains small relative to Harvard’s $56.9 billion academic endowment fund, it signals a longer-term investment strategy by traditional investors of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
BlackRock’s iShares BTC ETF Is Now Harvard’s Biggest Public Investment
According to a Form 13F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Harvard Management Company, which oversees the university’s $50 billion endowment, held 6.8 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as of September 30. The stake is worth around $442.8 million, up from $326 million from the 1,906,000 shares reported on June 30.
The Ivy League university’s allocation of IBIT shares ranked as its largest investment, placing it just ahead of its investment in Google’s parent company, Alphabet, Amazon, travel technology company Booking Holdings, and Meta.
IBIT, one of the most successfully launched exchange-traded funds in history, is a spot Bitcoin ETF that allows investors to gain exposure to the premier crypto without directly holding it.
 
Harvard joins an increasing number of universities adding regulated BTC products to their portfolios. Others include Brown University, which holds $13.8 million in IBIT shares.
The disclosure comes as spot Bitcoin funds witnessed massive outflows this week. The 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs bled roughly $869 million on Thursday, the second-largest single-day tally since the SEC greenlighted their Wall Street debut in 2024.
Despite a painful week for Bitcoin, which kicked off the week at over $107,000 before slumping below $95,000 on Friday, the university endowment disclosures signal growing institutional comfort with the asset class.