Harvard Increases Bitcoin and Gold Investments Significantly

Highlights:

• Harvard bought more Bitcoin and gold to change its investment plan.
• Bitcoin now makes up about one percent of Harvard’s total funds.
• Other universities also use blockchain and digital money for learning and research.

Harvard University has increased its investments in BTC and gold, showing a new approach to its portfolio. The university tripled its Bitcoin holdings in the third quarter, raising them from $117 million to $443 million.

Harvard Strengthens Digital and Traditional Asset Holdings

At the same time, Harvard increased its investment in a Gold ETF, nearly doubling it from $102 million to $235 million. According to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, Harvard chose to favor Bitcoin more than gold as a hedge against money debasement.

Recent filings show the university now holds about 6.8 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), valued at roughly $443 million, compared to 1.9 million shares worth $117 million in the previous quarter.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted on X that IBIT has become Harvard’s largest holding in its 13F filings and saw the biggest increase in the third quarter. He added that it is uncommon for endowments, especially those of Harvard or Yale, to invest in an ETF, making this move a strong validation for the fund. Despite the large position, Bitcoin still represents only about 1% of Harvard’s total endowment.

Traditional and crypto investors closely follow Harvard University’s investment decisions, as they often influence other big institutional players in the market. The timing of this increase coincides with recent market trends. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is trading around $92,900, up 3.14% in the past 24 hours, with a trading volume of $56.52 billion.

Growing University Focus on Blockchain and Crypto Education

Earlier, Harvard economist Kenneth S. Rogoff commented on Bitcoin’s growth in August. He said that almost ten years ago, he believed Bitcoin was more likely to reach $100 than $100,000. He added that he had underestimated how Bitcoin could compete with traditional currencies as a medium for transactions in the twenty-trillion-dollar global underground economy.

Harvard is not the only university exploring blockchain technology. In September, Indonesia’s Universitas Gadjah Mada launched a program for 60,000 students that stores and verifies course credentials on the decentralized Space and Time platform. The university will use the SXT token for payments and also plans to develop an AI lab for on-chain AI applications.

Columbia University has also entered the blockchain space, partnering with the Ethereum Foundation to create the Columbia-Ethereum Research Center. Led by blockchain expert Tim Roughgarden, the center focuses on designing blockchain protocols. The Ethereum Foundation provided $6 million, with an additional $1.5 million possible through philanthropic contributions.

These efforts reflect a growing trend of universities integrating digital assets and blockchain into education and research. They aim to equip students with practical skills for the finance and technology sectors. Harvard’s move, in particular, highlights increasing trust in cryptocurrencies as a tool to hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.

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