Harvard increases its position in the IBIT Bitcoin ETF to $443M, or +257%

The financial world continues to move away from its traditional models, with digital assets now finding their way into areas once dominated by traditional approaches. This development was confirmed with the latest decision by Harvard University, which discreetly increased its exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), one of the most notable institutional initiatives in the crypto universe this year.

Harvard increases its Bitcoin holdings

A recent SEC filing shows that Harvard University has significantly increased its stake in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust. It now holds approximately 6.8 million shares valued at $442.8 million as of September 30, up 257% from the 1.9 million shares held in the previous quarter.

This type of initiative remains rare in traditional finance. Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, points out that it's unusual for a large university foundation to invest in exchange-traded funds, especially for institutions like Harvard or Yale. Although this position represents approximately 1% of Harvard's total assets, it is enough to place the university as the 16th largest shareholder of IBIT. This investment also constitutes its largest reported position in the 13F filing, marking a notable rise in the third quarter.

This change comes several years after the prediction of Kenneth S. Rogoff, Harvard economist and former director of the IMF, who asserted in 2018 that bitcoin had more likely to fall back towards $100 than to reach $100,000 by 2028. With just over two years to go, bitcoin has been on the opposite trajectory, peaking around $126,000 in early October. Harvard's recent portfolio update indicates a clear move away from earlier skepticism and illustrates how big players are now re-evaluating cryptocurrency.

Institutional flows and diversified investments

Financial commentator MacroScope indicated on X that long-term institutional flows around bitcoin continue to increase, despite short-term volatility. In this context, Bitcoin ETFs provide institutions with regulated access to this asset, thanks to a structure officially launched in early 2024. SoSoValue data shows that spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States have attracted $58.85 billion in cumulative net flows, bringing their combined assets to $125.34 billion, or 6.67% of bitcoin's total capitalization.

However, despite these cumulative inflows, market sentiment has deteriorated. This week, the BTC ETF sector recorded $1,111.7 million in net outflowswhile the price of bitcoin fell to $95,000.

The Harvard documents also show that its investments are not limited to bitcoin. His holdings in the GLD gold ETF almost doubled (+99%), from 333,000 shares in June to 661,391 shares, for a total value of $235 million.