In recent years, cryptocurrency has transitioned from a niche investment to an institutional asset. This article reviews the participation of top U.S. universities led by Harvard University and how their endowment funds engage in the digital asset wave through direct purchases or investments in venture capital funds. The content is derived from an article by PANews, organized, translated, and authored by Dongqu.
(Background: Harvard University’s investment portfolio includes $117 million in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF)
(Additional context: NotebookLM has launched “Selected Notes” AI summaries: financial reports of the 50 largest listed companies, life advice from Harvard professors, and The Economist’s annual report)
In recent years, cryptocurrency has gradually transformed from a niche experiment into a burgeoning asset class within various institutional portfolios. Particularly in the United States, numerous renowned universities’ endowment funds have begun to explore the use of crypto assets for asset allocation, aiming to hedge against inflation or seek long-term appreciation opportunities.
University endowment funds serve as pools of capital accumulated by academic institutions, typically existing in the form of charitable donations. These funds are utilized to support teaching and research and can be allocated across various assets for investment.
Recently, Harvard University disclosed that its endowment fund holds over a hundred million dollars in Bitcoin, sparking widespread attention from both academia and the market regarding university participation in crypto assets. This article by PANews will review universities that have publicly disclosed or been reported to be involved in the crypto space, outlining their investment methods, disclosure times, and scales, to understand the differences in universities’ positions and practices in the digital asset wave to date.
Harvard University
Harvard University’s endowment fund has consistently ranked first among universities globally in financial reports and public statistics, managing approximately $50 billion. In terms of crypto asset allocation, Harvard’s endowment fund also possesses the largest known Bitcoin exposure among U.S. university endowments.
The Harvard Management Company, responsible for managing Harvard University’s endowment fund, recently disclosed in its latest 13-F filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that as of June 30, 2025, it holds approximately 1.9 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), valued at nearly $116 million. IBIT has also become the fifth-largest investment target for the fund during the same period, following Microsoft, Amazon, travel tech company Booking Holdings, and Meta, slightly surpassing its investment in Google parent company Alphabet.
Previously, The Information cited sources claiming that Harvard had invested in the cryptocurrency sector as early as 2018, having invested in “at least” one cryptocurrency fund. Additionally, CoinDesk reported that Harvard University has been quietly purchasing cryptocurrencies through exchanges like Coinbase since around 2020.
Brown University
Brown University’s endowment fund is known for its high investment returns, achieving an annual return rate of 11.3% for the fiscal year 2024, with an average annualized return of 10.8% over the past 10 years and 13.1% over the past 5 years.
Similar to Harvard and the University of Michigan, Brown University’s endowment fund is said to have begun purchasing Bitcoin on exchanges around 2020. However, it wasn’t until May of this year that Brown University publicly disclosed its Bitcoin investment for the first time. According to SEC 13-F filings, as of March 31, 2025, Brown University held 105,000 shares of BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF stock, valued at approximately $4.915 million at that time.
Prior to this, Brown University had no public record of cryptocurrency investments, making this disclosure the latest example of U.S. universities, following Emory and the University of Austin, to announce Bitcoin holdings.
Emory University
Emory University first disclosed its Bitcoin holdings in public records in October 2024, becoming the first U.S. university endowment fund to publicly reveal such a position. According to a document submitted to the SEC on October 25 last year, Emory University held nearly 2.7 million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), valued at approximately $15.1 million at that time. Following a subsequent surge in Bitcoin prices, this portion of assets may now be valued at over $30 million.
The Emory Investment Management (EIM) is responsible for the financial oversight of the university’s endowment fund, valued at over $11 billion. EIM’s Chief Investment Officer, Srinivas Pulavarti, revealed that Emory University’s investments were initially made in trust form, but when the stocks transitioned to an ETF structure, the university was compelled to disclose its holdings. Emory accounting professor Matthew Lyle pointed out that using ETFs issued by reputable companies can reduce security risks compared to directly buying Bitcoin.
University of Austin
The University of Austin (UATX), an emerging private university, has an endowment fund of approximately $200 million since its establishment in 2019.
In February 2025, Cointelegraph reported that the University of Austin plans to establish a Bitcoin investment fund of over $5 million, integrated into its endowment fund management. Chad Thevenot, Vice President for Development at the University of Austin, stated that the university will develop a Bitcoin holding strategy for at least five years, noting that Bitcoin offers long-term value opportunities similar to traditional assets (stocks, real estate). The foundation’s Chief Investment Officer, Chun Lai, told the Financial Times, “When the potential of cryptocurrencies becomes evident, we don’t want to be left behind.”
Additionally, UATX is collaborating with Bitcoin service company Unchained for fundraising, with Unchained CEO Joseph Kelly donating 2 Bitcoins to the university’s Bitcoin fund. UATX associate professor Thomas Hogan remarked that the purpose of the university’s endowment fund is to serve students, and Bitcoin provides a unique opportunity for UATX to fulfill its commitment to cultivating future leaders and innovators.
Stanford University
Stanford University has not directly disclosed its endowment fund’s Bitcoin holdings, but a student-run fund, the Blyth Fund, seized a good opportunity to buy Bitcoin last year. In March 2024, Kole Lee, head of the Stanford Blockchain Club, announced that the Blyth Fund had allocated approximately 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin. The fund gained Bitcoin exposure through purchasing BlackRock’s IBIT ETF, with the Bitcoin price at the time of purchase around $45,000.
It is essential to note that the Blyth Fund is not part of Stanford’s official endowment fund but is part of Stanford’s discretionary fund pool, granting students autonomy in investment decisions. Established in 1978 in memory of legendary banker Charles Blyth, the fund manages assets in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, investing in stocks, bonds, and now including BTC.
As of now, Stanford has not publicly disclosed any formal information regarding its endowment fund holding crypto assets, but the investment actions of the student team indicate an existing optimistic view on cryptocurrencies among investors at Stanford.
Yale University
Yale University possesses the second-largest endowment fund in the U.S., valued at over $30 billion, but information about its involvement in crypto assets primarily comes from media reports rather than official disclosures.
In 2018, Bloomberg reported that Yale participated as one of the investors in the $400 million fund managed by the prominent venture capital firm Paradigm. Additionally, CNBC reported that Yale’s Chief Investment Officer, David Swensen, also invested on behalf of the university in a $300 million cryptocurrency fund under Andreessen Horowitz.
Regarding direct investment in crypto assets, CoinDesk reported that Yale, like Harvard, Brown, and the University of Michigan, began purchasing small amounts of Bitcoin through cryptocurrency exchanges around 2020 (specific amounts were not disclosed).
However, Yale has not publicly confirmed or commented on these investments. What is known is that Yale has ventured into early-stage cryptocurrency-related venture capital funds but has not publicly disclosed specific data on Bitcoin or ETF holdings, maintaining a relatively cautious investment stance with limited information available to the public.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s endowment fund is also substantial, estimated at around $24.6 billion for the fiscal year 2024, yet official public records have not disclosed direct holdings of Bitcoin or cryptocurrency ETFs. Historically, MIT has been known for its flexible investment style, and according to reports from The Information, MIT participated in investments in blockchain-themed venture capital funds as early as 2018.
Additionally, according to public information, MIT has close ties to research in cryptography and blockchain technology, such as the digital currency research project at the MIT Media Lab, which has received donations. However, MIT has not disclosed any cryptocurrency holdings in SEC filings or financial reports to date. This implies that MIT may have engaged in crypto assets through previous investments in blockchain funds, but the specific amounts and timing remain opaque, with no public commentary from MIT.
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan’s endowment fund has been linked to cryptocurrency investments since 2018, when the school invested approximately $3 million in the CNK Fund I, a crypto-focused fund managed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in June 2018. A board meeting agenda from February 2019 indicated that the fund was listed as an “approved follow-on investment partner,” suggesting potential plans for additional investment, although no specific additional amounts were disclosed.
Moreover, according to CoinDesk, the University of Michigan’s endowment fund began purchasing small amounts of Bitcoin through exchanges around 2020. Overall, the University of Michigan’s endowment fund has indirectly allocated capital to crypto assets through venture capital, with specific investments in the sector amounting to millions of dollars, but the school has not provided any formal public commentary on this.