Bitcoin has been gaining attention in recent years as one of the most rewarding stores of value, with institutional adoption hitting record highs this year. One such groundbreaking Bitcoin acquisition took place at Harvard University, arguably the most prestigious academic institution in the world.
In early August, Harvard unveiled an investment portfolio that included $117 million worth of shares in the BlackRock Cash Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) as of the end of the second quarter. According to the latest disclosure, the university’s BTC exposure nearly tripled in the last quarter.
BlackRock’s IBIT becomes Harvard’s largest investment
In a recent 13F filing, Harvard University revealed that it held 6,813,612 shares of BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), worth about $443 million, as of September 30.
This additional acquisition highlights the institution’s broader capital allocation strategy, which increased SPDR Gold Trust’s (GLD) holdings to 661,391 shares (worth approximately $235 million) in the third quarter of 2025.
Notably, Harvard’s current holdings in the leading BTC ETF represent a 257% increase over the 1,906,000 public shares announced as of June. Currently, BlackRock’s exchange-traded fund is the largest single investment among the university’s reported holdings.
Although IBIT status currently represents only a small portion of Harvard’s $57 billion endowment, it is significant enough to make Harvard the 16th largest IBIT holder. As inferred earlier, stories of institutional adoption like this lend further credibility to Bitcoin’s status as a strategic reserve asset and growing demand for exchange-traded funds.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote about X:
It is very rare and difficult to get an endowment that can be invested in an ETF. Harvard and Yale in particular are as good a validation as an ETF can get. In other words, $500 million is only 1% of total donations. It is large enough to rank 16th among IBIT holders.
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF records biggest outflow day ever
US-based Bitcoin ETFs have suffered from declining investor demand in recent weeks, with last week being particularly disappointing. Last week, exchange-traded funds recorded a total net outflow of $1.1 billion, according to the latest market data.
Leading these withdrawals was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which has now recorded three consecutive days of outflows. According to data from SoSoValue, $463.1 million was outflowed from the BTC ETF on Friday, November 14th.
As of this writing, BlackRock’s IBIT still ranks as the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with a net asset value of approximately $74.98 billion.
The price of BTC on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image by Rick Friedman/AFP via Getty Images, chart by TradingView
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