Bitcoin News Today: Harvard Allocates 8% of U.S. Portfolio to Bitcoin ETF via IBIT Investment

Harvard Management Co. (HMC) has disclosed a $116,666,260 investment in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), according to a Form 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 8. The filing, which covers holdings as of June 30, reveals that HMC owns 1,906,000 shares of the Bitcoin ETF, representing approximately 8% of the institution’s reported $1.4 billion U.S.-listed portfolio [1]. This allocation places Bitcoin exposure on par with several of Harvard’s largest holdings, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Booking Holdings [1].

The Bitcoin stake exceeds Harvard’s gold allocation, with HMC’s holdings in SPDR Gold Trust valued at roughly $102 million as of the end of the second quarter [1]. This shift indicates a strategic preference for Bitcoin over traditional safe-haven assets in the institution’s public portfolio, at least in the short term.

Harvard’s interest in digital assets is not new. The university has engaged with crypto-related investments since at least 2018, when it became an early university investor in crypto-focused venture funds. A 2019 SEC filing also documented Harvard’s involvement in a qualified token sale tied to Blockstack, and by 2021, reports indicated the university was directly acquiring cryptocurrency through exchange accounts [1]. The IBIT investment marks a formal entry into spot Bitcoin exposure, aligning it with Harvard’s core blue-chip equities and gold holdings [1].

The Form 13F filing is limited to specific U.S.-listed securities and does not capture the full scope of Harvard’s investment portfolio. However, the inclusion of Bitcoin at such a significant level underscores a growing institutional acceptance of digital assets as a legitimate asset class. The allocation also highlights the role of regulated ETFs like IBIT in bridging the gap between traditional finance and the crypto market [1].

By securing an 8% position in Bitcoin via IBIT, Harvard has effectively positioned the cryptocurrency as a core component of its public-market investments for the current quarter. This move could signal to other institutional investors that Bitcoin is being taken more seriously as part of a diversified portfolio [1].