Harvard Management Company reduced its Bitcoin (BTC) ETF holdings by 21% during the fourth quarter while establishing an $86.8 million position in an Ethereum (ETH)-linked fund.
The moves came during a volatile period that saw bitcoin fall from $126,000 in October to $88,429 by year-end.
The university's endowment manager held 5.35 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust worth $265.8 million as of December 31, according to SEC filings.
That represents a reduction of 1.48 million shares from the prior quarter's 6.81 million shares valued at $442.8 million.
Portfolio Rebalancing
Despite the reduction, bitcoin remains Harvard's largest publicly disclosed equity position, surpassing holdings in Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. The IBIT stake accounts for approximately 12.8% of the endowment's 13F-reportable assets.
Harvard simultaneously acquired 3.87 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust during the quarter.
The ETHA position marks the $56.9 billion endowment's first disclosed ethereum allocation through a regulated fund.
Combined, the two cryptocurrency positions totaled $352.6 million, representing roughly 0.62% of Harvard's overall portfolio. Both holdings consist exclusively of BlackRock-managed products.
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Broader Institutional Trends
The rebalancing occurred as cryptocurrency investment products experienced their fourth consecutive week of outflows. Digital asset funds saw $173 million in withdrawals last week, bringing four-week redemptions to $3.74 billion, according to CoinShares data.
Regional flows showed divergence, with $403 million departing U.S.-listed products while Germany, Canada and Switzerland collectively recorded $230 million in inflows. XRP and Solana funds attracted $33.4 million and $31 million respectively despite broader market weakness.
Harvard's cryptocurrency exposure has grown significantly since first disclosing a $116 million bitcoin position in mid-2025. The endowment tripled that stake by the third quarter before trimming it in Q4.
Other university endowments including Yale, Brown and the University of Texas have also established cryptocurrency positions through regulated ETF products in recent quarters.
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