Harvard University Expands Bitcoin ETF Holdings by 257%

Highlights:

• Harvard increased Bitcoin ETF holdings to over 6.8 million shares, worth $442.8 million.
• The endowment also doubled its gold holdings to 661,391 GLD shares this quarter.
• Harvard’s disclosure comes as crypto fear hits its highest level in over eight months.

Harvard University showed a big change in its latest 13F filing. The endowment increased its Bitcoin ETF holdings to 6,813,612 IBIT shares, worth around $442.8 million. In the previous quarter, it held only 1,906,000 shares valued at $117 million. This means the exposure jumped by about 257%.

Harvard Doubles Gold Holdings While Increasing Bitcoin ETF Exposure

Harvard also made a big adjustment to its gold investment. The endowment now holds 661,391 GLD shares, valued at about $235 million. This is almost double the previous quarter’s 333,000 shares. By raising its exposure to both Bitcoin and gold, Harvard appears to be preparing for possible shifts in U.S. monetary policy and global economic conditions.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reacted to the filing and said actions like this are very rare for big university funds. He called Harvard’s step “one of the strongest validations an ETF can get.” Even after the large increase, the IBIT investment is still under 1% of Harvard’s $56.9 billion endowment. Harvard’s filing shows IBIT is its largest holding, ahead of Microsoft and Amazon. IBIT makes up 20.97% of Harvard’s portfolio, more than any other investment.

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

Several Universities Increase Bitcoin ETF Investments

Harvard University does not invest in Bitcoin ETFs. In contrast, Emory University, a top private research university in Georgia, has increased its holdings in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF. The university now owns over 1 million shares, worth about $51.8 million, according to a recent SEC quarterly filing.

In addition, Emory holds 4,450 shares of BlackRock’s IBIT, valued at roughly $290,000. This IBIT holding was reported in the second quarter and has remained unchanged. As of March 31, Brown University held 105,000 shares of IBIT.

Bitcoin Falls Below $96K as Crypto Fear Peaks

Harvard’s disclosure comes at a critical time. Crypto fear has hit its highest level in over eight months. Investors are worried because of ongoing economic uncertainty. Analysts believe the negative mood may not last long and expect a short recovery.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index showed “Extreme Fear” with a score of 10 on Saturday. Bitcoin fell below $95,000 on Friday and had not gone above $96,000 by the report, according to CoinMarketCap. Earlier in February, Bitcoin ETFs faced a record outflow of $1.14 billion in a single day. This pushed Bitcoin down from $102,000 at the start of the month to $84,000.

Dragosh said on X Friday that the crypto sentiment index is bearish but weaker than in previous corrections. He pointed to Bitwise’s crypto sentiment index, which shows signs of a possible reversal. He added that their own Cryptoasset Sentiment Index continues to show a positive divergence. Dragosh also noted that while the US government shutdown recently ended, uncertainty around the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision still affects crypto market sentiment.

🔴UPDATE: Our Cryptoasset Sentiment Index also continues to show a positive divergence.

Read: Sentiment index is bearish but less so than during previous corrections despite lower prices.

Sellers are exhausted and it shows. https://t.co/GYl5Ytc5zR pic.twitter.com/XxSeuo5Ewb

— André Dragosch, PhD⚡ (@Andre_Dragosch) November 14, 2025