As of December 31, the investment arm of Harvard University held 5.35 million shares of iShares Bitcoin Trust, valued at approximately $265.8 million, according to a Friday SEC filing.
Bitcoin and Ethereum news
Harvard Management Company made some significant changes in the fourth quarter, reducing its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust by 1.48 million shares. In a notable shift, it also established its first position in the Ethereum exchange-traded fund, which is worth about $86.8 million. This indicates a strategic re-evaluation of digital asset investments by the Ivy League fund.
At the end of the year, the fund’s holdings in the iShares Bitcoin Trust had decreased by 21% from the previous quarter when it owned 6.81 million shares—worth around $442.8 million. Interestingly, during the same period, Harvard simultaneously acquired 3.87 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust. This marks the fund’s first public investment in Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market value.
These portfolio changes came during a time of significant volatility in the digital asset market. Bitcoin, for instance, hit a high of nearly $126,000 in October 2025, only to drop to $88,429 by year’s end. Meanwhile, Ethereum experienced about a 28% decline in value throughout that same timeframe.
Despite reducing its holdings, Bitcoin still holds the title of Harvard University’s largest publicly disclosed asset as of December 31. The $265.8 million stake is greater than the fund’s investments in notable tech giants like Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon, according to the quarterly report.
The timing of Harvard’s adjustments might reflect broader market dynamics, as noted by Andy Constant, founder and Chief Investment Officer of Dumped Spring Advisors. He suggested that the recent sell-offs could be part of a process of unwinding trades that previously capitalized on Bitcoin’s premium pricing against its government bond counterparts.
According to 13F filing data collected by Todd Schneider for 13.info, institutions owned 230 million shares of IBIT stock in the fourth quarter, a decline from 417 million shares in the third quarter. This drop in holdings seemed aligned with the overall decrease in cryptocurrency prices.
The recent disclosures have sparked discussions among academics about Harvard’s tactics regarding digital assets. Andrew F. Siegel, a finance professor emeritus at the University of Washington, pointed out the risks of investing in Bitcoin, especially given its 22.8% loss since the year’s start, as reported by the Harvard Crimson.
Meanwhile, Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, a finance professor at UCLA, expressed apprehensions about the fund’s strategy, particularly after the inclusion of Ethereum. He raised concerns regarding cryptocurrencies, labeling them as an unproven asset class with unclear valuation methods.
