Harvard and Brown Boost Investments in BlackRock's #1 Bitcoin ETF as Trading Volume Ranks 199th

On August 8, 2025, BlackRock (BLK) rose 1.09% with a trading volume of $0.48 billion, ranking 199th in market activity. The move followed significant institutional developments in its Bitcoin ETF offerings. Harvard University’s endowment disclosed a $116 million allocation to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in a regulatory filing, marking one of the largest academic institution investments in crypto assets. Brown University also increased its stake in the same fund to $13 million, reflecting broader institutional confidence in regulated cryptocurrency vehicles.

BlackRock’s IBIT, approved by the SEC in January 2024, has emerged as the leading Bitcoin ETF, amassing $86.3 billion in assets under management. The fund’s success underscores a shift in institutional finance, with pension funds and U.S. states increasingly adopting crypto via ETFs to diversify portfolios and hedge against macroeconomic risks. The Harvard and Brown allocations highlight the growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a strategic asset, particularly through structures that mitigate custody and regulatory complexities.

The strategy of purchasing the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume and holding them for one day delivered a 166.71% return from 2022 to the present, outperforming the benchmark return of 29.18% by 137.53%. This underscores the role of liquidity concentration in short-term stock performance, particularly in volatile markets. The results emphasize the importance of liquidity dynamics in investment decisions, suggesting that high-volume stocks can offer significant short-term gains, though the approach is not suited for long-term strategies.