Harvard University Fund enters the market, holding $116 million in Bitcoin ETFs.
Multiple foreign media outlets reported that Harvard Management Company submitted the latest documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week, revealing that as of June 30 this year, it had held over $116 million (approximately NT$3.7 billion) in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin spot ETF (IBIT).
It is understood that Harvard Management Company manages more than $50 billion in university endowment funds, and after announcing holdings of over $116 million in Bitcoin, it has become one of the largest known Bitcoin allocations among U.S. university endowment funds.
Foreign media (Cointelegraph) further pointed out that this investment has become the fifth largest holding in Harvard's endowment fund for that quarter, second only to holdings in tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, indicating its importance to this asset.
Further reading:
What are Bitcoin ETFs? Can they be purchased in Taiwan? Understand Bitcoin ETFs at once.
Source: SEC documents. Harvard University's fund enters the market, holding $116 million in Bitcoin ETFs.
Once bearish, now Harvard University makes a significant investment.
After Harvard University announced its substantial investment in Bitcoin, comments from a Harvard professor years ago were also dug up by the community for mockery.
According to (CNBC) reports, in March 2018, Harvard University professor and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kenneth Rogoff publicly stated that Bitcoin's price is more likely to fall to $100 in 10 years than rise to $100,000.
Rogoff openly expressed his bearish stance on Bitcoin: 'Essentially, if you exclude the possibilities of money laundering and tax evasion, the practical use of Bitcoin as a trading tool is very limited.' He believes that joint regulation by global governments will be a catalyst for a significant drop in Bitcoin prices.
During the Bitcoin bull market in 2021, he reiterated in an interview with (Bloomberg): 'I have always been skeptical about Bitcoin, and its price has indeed risen. But ultimately, we must ask, what is the use of Bitcoin? Is its value merely because people think it has value? That is a bubble that will eventually burst.' He also stated, 'Regulation will eventually be enacted, and the government will ultimately win; the technology itself does not matter.'
Today, although it has not been 10 years since 2018, governments in multiple countries around the world have begun to face and regulate the cryptocurrency market, and the price of Bitcoin has not plummeted; instead, it has exceeded $100,000.
Source: Bloomberg. Harvard University professor and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kenneth Rogoff has been bearish on Bitcoin.
Not just Harvard, top universities are all positioning themselves.
Harvard University's investment is not an isolated case; since the U.S. SEC approved the listing of Bitcoin spot ETFs in January 2024, traditional institutional investors are accelerating their embrace of cryptocurrency.
For instance, Brown University recently disclosed that it first purchased BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF in May this year and has increased its holdings again, currently holding $13 million worth of Bitcoin shares; the University of Austin also announced in February this year that it is raising $5 million to establish a Bitcoin investment fund, becoming the first university in the U.S. to launch an endowment fund dedicated to investing in cryptocurrencies.
Emory University is the first university in the United States to disclose investments in Bitcoin ETFs, holding a total of $15 million worth of Bitcoin ETF shares as of the end of October 2024, and also holding 4,312 shares of Coinbase.
Further reading:
The University of Austin establishes a Bitcoin investment fund! Why are endowment funds embracing crypto?
Why are Bitcoin spot ETFs attractive to institutions?
The positioning of these top universities sends a signal that through investing in Bitcoin spot ETFs, Bitcoin is gradually being included in the portfolios of the most traditional and conservative fund managers.
For institutions, Bitcoin spot ETFs are particularly attractive. Foreign media (CoinDesk) analyzed that the structure of ETFs provides a regulated investment channel with daily liquidity, helping to meet the stringent governance and compliance requirements for alternative investments like university endowment funds.
'Is it true? Harvard University holds $116 million in Bitcoin ETFs, and a former professor predicted it would drop back to $100.' This article was first published in 'Crypto City.'
