Author: Zen, PANews
In recent years, cryptocurrency has gradually transformed from a niche experiment into an emerging asset class for various institutional portfolios. Especially in the United States, many renowned universities' endowment funds have begun to experiment with using crypto assets for asset allocation to hedge against inflation or seek long-term appreciation opportunities.
University endowment funds are pools of funds accumulated by academic institutions, typically existing in the form of charitable donations. These funds are used to support teaching and research and can be allocated to various assets for investment.
Recently, Harvard University disclosed that its endowment fund holds over $100 million in Bitcoin positions, sparking widespread interest in academia and the market regarding universities' participation in crypto assets. This article by PANews will review universities that have publicly disclosed or been reported to participate in the crypto space, detailing their investment methods, disclosure timelines, and scales, to understand the positions and practices of these institutions amidst the digital asset wave.
Harvard University
Harvard University's endowment fund has consistently ranked first among global university endowments in financial reports and public statistics, managing approximately $50 billion. In terms of crypto asset allocation, Harvard's endowment fund also has the largest known Bitcoin exposure among U.S. university endowments.
The Harvard Management Company, responsible for managing Harvard University's endowment fund, disclosed in its latest 13-F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that as of June 30, 2025, it holds approximately 1.9 million shares of BlackRock 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, only behind Microsoft, Amazon, travel technology company Booking Holdings, and Meta, slightly above its investment in Google’s parent company Alphabet.
Previously, The Information cited sources saying that Harvard invested in the cryptocurrency space as early as 2018, having invested in 'at least' one cryptocurrency fund. Additionally, according to CoinDesk, Harvard 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 of 11.3% as of the 2024 fiscal year, with an average annualized return of 10.8% over the past ten years and 13.1% over the past five years.
Like Harvard and the University of Michigan, Brown University's endowment fund is rumored to have started 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 the SEC 13-F disclosure, as of March 31, 2025, Brown University held 105,000 shares of BlackRock IBIT Bitcoin ETF stock, valued at approximately $4.915 million at that time.
Previously, Brown University had no publicly available records of cryptocurrency investments, making this disclosure the latest example among American universities, following Emory and the University of Austin, to announce holdings in Bitcoin.
Emory University
Emory University disclosed its Bitcoin position publicly for the first time in October 2024, becoming the first university endowment fund in the U.S. to publicly reveal such holdings. According to SEC documents submitted on October 25 last year, Emory University held nearly 2.7 million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), with a market value of approximately $15.1 million at the time. Following a subsequent rise in Bitcoin prices to nearly double, this asset may now be valued at over $30 million.
Emory Investment Management (EIM) is responsible for overseeing the financial management of the university's endowment fund, valued at over $11 billion. EIM Chief Investment Officer Srinivas Pulavarti revealed that Emory University's investments were initially made in trust form, but when stocks converted to ETF structures, the university was forced to disclose its holdings. Emory accounting professor Matthew Lyle pointed out that using ETFs issued by well-known companies can reduce security risks compared to directly buying Bitcoin.
University of Austin
The University of Austin (UATX) is an emerging private university, with an endowment fund of approximately $200 million established after its founding in 2019.
In February 2025, Cointelegraph reported that the University of Austin plans to establish a Bitcoin investment fund of over $5 million within its endowment fund management. Chad Thevenot, Senior Vice President for Development at the University of Austin, stated that the university will formulate a Bitcoin holding strategy for at least five years, expressing 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 apparent, we do not want to be left behind.'
Additionally, UATX is also collaborating with Bitcoin service provider Unchained for fundraising, with Unchained CEO Joseph Kelly donating 2 Bitcoins to the university's Bitcoin fund. UATX Associate Professor Thomas Hogan stated that the purpose of the university endowment fund is to serve students, and Bitcoin provides UATX with a unique opportunity to fulfill its commitment to cultivating future leaders and innovators.
Stanford University
Stanford University itself has not directly disclosed its endowment fund's Bitcoin holdings, but a student-run fund, the Blyth Fund, seized the opportunity to buy Bitcoin last year. In March 2024, Kole Lee, head of the Stanford Blockchain Club, announced that the Blyth Fund would invest approximately 7% of its portfolio in Bitcoin. The fund achieved Bitcoin exposure by purchasing BlackRock IBIT ETF, with Bitcoin prices at the time of purchase around $45,000.
It should be noted that the Blyth Fund is not part of Stanford’s official endowment fund but is part of Stanford's discretionary funds, granting students autonomy in investment decisions. The Blyth Fund was established in 1978 in memory of legendary banker Charles Blyth, and through investments in stocks, bonds, and other assets, it now includes BTC, managing assets in the hundreds of thousands.
As of now, Stanford has not publicly disclosed any official information regarding its endowment fund holding crypto assets, but the investment actions of the student team indicate that there are investors within Stanford who hold an optimistic view of cryptocurrencies.
Yale University
Yale University has the second-largest endowment fund in the U.S., valued at over $30 billion, but information about its involvement in crypto assets mainly comes from media reports rather than official disclosures.
In 2018, Bloomberg reported that Yale participated in the financing of a well-known venture capital fund Paradigm, which has a scale of $400 million, and was one of its investors. In addition, CNBC reported that Yale's Chief Investment Officer David Swensen also represented the university in investing in a $300 million cryptocurrency fund managed by Andreessen Horowitz.
In direct investments in crypto assets, according to CoinDesk, Yale, like Harvard, Brown, and the University of Michigan, began purchasing small amounts of Bitcoin as investments around 2020 (specific amounts not disclosed).
However, Yale has not publicly confirmed or commented on the aforementioned investments. What is known is that Yale has been involved in early-stage cryptocurrency-related venture funds but has not publicly disclosed specific holdings in Bitcoin or ETFs, maintaining a relatively cautious investment attitude with limited public information.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
The MIT endowment fund is also substantial, approximately $24.6 billion for the 2024 fiscal year, but official public documents have not disclosed 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 blockchain-themed venture capital fund investments as early as 2018.
Additionally, according to public information, MIT is closely related to research in cryptography and blockchain technology, such as the digital currency research project at the MIT Media Lab, which has received donations. However, as of now, MIT has not disclosed any cryptocurrency positions in SEC filings or financial reports. This means that MIT may have ventured into crypto assets through previous blockchain fund investments, but the specifics of amounts and timing are not transparent, and MIT has not provided public comments.
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan's endowment fund has been involved in cryptocurrency investments since 2018, as the school invested about $3 million in CNK Fund I, a crypto-focused fund managed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), in June 2018. According to a board meeting agenda from February 2019, this fund was listed as an 'approved follow-up investment partner,' indicating a potential intention for additional investments, although specific amounts for follow-up investments were not disclosed.
Additionally, according to CoinDesk, the University of Michigan's endowment fund also began purchasing small amounts of Bitcoin on exchanges around 2020. Overall, the University of Michigan's endowment fund has indirectly laid out cryptocurrency assets through venture capital, with explicit investments in the field amounting to several million dollars, but the university has not made any formal public comments on this.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/austin-university-launch-5-m-bitcoin-fund-5-year-hodl-strategy-report
