Bitcoin has enjoyed attention as one of the most rewarding stores of value in recent years, with institutional adoption reaching new highs this year. One such landmark Bitcoin acquisition was made by Harvard University, arguably the world’s most prestigious academic institution.
This additional acquisition highlights the institution’s expansive capital allocation strategy, which also saw its SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) holdings grow to 661,391 shares (worth approximately $235 million) in 2025 Q3.
Notably, Harvard’s current holding of the leading spot BTC ETF represents a 257% increase from the disclosed 1,906,000 shares declared as of June. As of now, BlackRock’s exchange-traded fund is the single largest investment of the university’s reported holdings.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on X:
It’s super rare/difficult to get an endowment to bite on an ETF- esp a Harvard or Yale, it’s as good a validation as an ETF can get. That said, half a billion is a mere 1% of total endowment. Big enough to rank 16th among IBIT holders tho.
Leading these withdrawals was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which is currently on a three-day outflow streak. Data from SoSoValue shows that $463.1 million flowed out of the BTC ETF on Friday, November 14.
As of this writing, BlackRock’s IBIT still ranks as the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with net assets worth roughly $74.98 billion.
