Harvard Management Company, which oversees the university’s $53.2 billion endowment, has disclosed a $116 million position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF, making it one of the largest institutional investments in the fund to date.
Key Takeaways:
- Harvard disclosed a $116M stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF, its fifth-largest holding.
- The move highlights growing Bitcoin adoption among top US universities.
- The iShares Bitcoin ETF has grown to $86B in assets, with expanded options limits expected to drive further demand.
According to a Friday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Harvard held roughly 1.9 million shares of the ETF as of June 30.
The Bitcoin exposure ranked as the endowment’s fifth-largest holding for the period, behind Microsoft, Amazon, Booking Holdings, and Meta.
Harvard Investment Signals Growing Bitcoin Adoption Among Top Universities
The investment marks one of the most prominent signs yet of deepening institutional adoption of Bitcoin-linked financial products among elite US universities.
While Harvard reportedly explored the idea of buying into crypto funds as early as 2018, its portfolio in 2025 has been heavily weighted toward technology companies.
In 2024, Emory University became one of the first major US endowments to reveal crypto ETF exposure, with a $15 million stake in the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust.
The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF has rapidly grown since the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved it and 10 other spot Bitcoin ETFs for trading in January 2024.
As of Thursday, the fund held more than $86 billion in net assets, according to BlackRock data, making it the largest Bitcoin ETF globally.
The SEC this week moved to expand the cap on options contracts for all ETFs with options, including the iShares Bitcoin ETF, from 25,000 to 250,000.
Market watchers expect the change could spur additional demand for the fund, which has become a key access point for institutional and retail investors seeking regulated Bitcoin exposure.
Michigan State Pension Triples Bitcoin ETF Holdings
As reported, the State of Michigan Retirement System has also increased its exposure to Bitcoin, tripling its holdings in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF to 300,000 shares, valued at $11.4 million in Q2.
As of March 31, the $19.3 billion pension fund held 100,000 shares.
Alongside Bitcoin, Michigan also holds a steady Ethereum allocation through 460,000 shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), currently valued at around $13.6 million, a position it has maintained since September 2024.
The move places Michigan among a growing cohort of U.S. state pension funds increasing exposure to crypto-linked assets.
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board, for instance, now holds over 6 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), worth approximately $387.3 million.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analysts have assigned a 95% chance that the SEC will approve spot ETFs for Solana, XRP, and Litecoin this year, raising their previous odds from 90% amid growing optimism for institutional crypto products.
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