Harvard sharply reduces its exposure to BlackRock's Bitcoin ETFs and fully liquidates its Ethereum position

The crypto ETF market is beginning to reveal an unexpected divide between the world's largest financial institutions. On the one hand, some sovereign investors are aggressively strengthening their positions in bitcoin. On the other hand, Harvard has just sharply reduced its exposure to BlackRock's Bitcoin ETFs while completely liquidating its Ethereum position. The latest documents sent to the SEC show a major strategic change by the prestigious American endowment fund, at the very time when Wall Street is still trying to define its true approach to cryptos.

Harvard drastically reduces its crypto positions

Harvard Management Company sharply decreased its exposure to cryptos in the first quarter of 2026, following an increase in the fourth quarter of 2025. Regulatory filings 13F show several major movements:

• A sale of approximately 43% of its stake in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) spot Bitcoin ETF;
• The remaining position of 3,044,612 IBIT shares, valued at around $117 million;
• This reduction has already begun in the fourth quarter of 2025 with a drop of 21%;
• The total liquidation of the position in BlackRock's Ethereum spot ETHA ETF, estimated at $86.8 million.

This withdrawal appears all the more significant as Harvard was among the institutional investors most exposed to American crypto ETFs. At the peak of its exposure, the fund held nearly $443 million in IBIT stock in the third quarter of 2025.

New documents filed with the SEC also show a reallocation towards more traditional values ​​such as TSMC, Microsoft, Alphabet or the SPDR Gold Trust. Several hypotheses are mentioned: portfolio rebalancing, tactical risk reduction or arbitrage in favor of less risky assets in the current macroeconomic context.

Mubadala and JPMorgan continue their bitcoin accumulation

In contrast to Harvard, several large institutions continue to increase their exposure to bitcoin via US spot ETFs. The most spectacular case remains that of Abu Dhabi's Mubadala sovereign fund. According to the latest regulatory filings, the institution now owns 14,721,917 IBIT shares, or approximately $566 million.

This accumulation is part of a strategy carried out quarter after quarter since the end of 2024. Other American financial players are also following this dynamic, notably JPMorgan, which increased its exposure to IBIT by 174%.

The institutional market now appears deeply fragmented. Some hedge funds are reducing their positions, such as Jane Street which reduced its exposure to IBIT by 71% and FBTC by 60%. Other financial institutions are continuing their ramp-up in crypto ETFs, like Wells Fargo on Ethereum. This divergence reflects a significant development in the market: Bitcoin ETFs are no longer the subject of a single consensus among institutional investors. Strategies become more opportunistic, more tactical and sometimes even opposing depending on risk profiles and investment horizons.

The next regulatory filings for the second quarter, expected during the summer, will be closely observed by the markets. They will make it possible to measure whether the reduction made by Harvard marks the start of a broader disengagement from large American funds or whether it is simply an isolated adjustment. One thing is already clear: the arrival of spot ETFs has brought bitcoin into the classic arbitrage of global finance, with the same sector rotations, profit taking and defensive strategies as traditional assets.