Harvard pivots from BTC with $86.8M ETH position in what Coinbase exec calls buying opportunity

Harvard University’s endowment has adjusted its cryptocurrency strategy during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, reducing Bitcoin exposure and placing a sizable investment in Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds. 

As seen in regulatory filings submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, the university’s $50 billion endowment comptroller Harvard Management Company purchased 3.87 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust during the quarter. 

The acquisition is the HMC’s first Ether exposure, coming at the expense of a trimmed-down stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust to 5.35 million shares valued at $265.8 million, as of December 31. 

The figure is about 1.48 million shares less from the prior quarter, when the endowment held 6.81 million IBIT shares worth $442.8 million. Harvard’s combined indirect Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings totaled $352.6 million at the end of the reporting period.

Harvard shifts to Ethereum dip after 44% BTC loss from ATH

The HMC’s portfolio rebalancing comes against the backdrop of a volatile stretch for crypto markets. Bitcoin had surged to an all-time high near $126,000 in October, before a purported crypto winter began and cooled its price down to $88,429 by year-end. Ethereum has also lost over 55% of its value since it clocked an all-time high of $4,900 on August 24, 2025.

As reported by Cryptopolitan in December, the Ivy League school’s position in Bitcoin-linked funds had fallen about $40 million below its purchase value. Despite the reduction, Bitcoin remains Harvard’s largest publicly disclosed equity holding. The $265.8 million position exceeded the endowment’s reported stakes in technology companies Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon.

The portfolio adjustment also came alongside changes in other allocations, in which Harvard increased its position in gold exchange-traded funds during the same period, according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan confirmed late last year.

Looking at institutional investment flows in the crypto sector, digital asset funds recorded four consecutive weeks of withdrawals, with Bitcoin-focused funds experiencing the largest redemptions of $677 million in the past month. 

The iShares Bitcoin Trust itself has experienced about $2.8 billion in net outflows in the last 90 trading days. Spot Bitcoin ETF net outflows totaled about $5.8 billion in the period, while still maintaining $14.2 billion in positive flows over a one-year horizon.

Harvard’s continued investment in cryptos raised eyebrows among some academic finance experts, who argue that such assets are too speculative for institutional portfolios. Andrew F. Siegel, emeritus professor of finance at the University of Washington, deems Bitcoin exposure as “risky.” 

“It is down 22.8% year-to-date,” Siegel wrote. “It can be argued that the risk of bitcoin is partly due to its lack of intrinsic value.”

Another finance professor from UCLA, Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, believes concentrated positions in digital assets could introduce unnecessary volatility into a long-term endowment portfolio.

“In my view, any underdiversified position in something as speculative as crypto (an asset of unproven true value) does not make sense for HMC,” he said. “If I were to ask them how they value BTC or Ethereum, I doubt I would get a cogent and precise answer. I questioned their investment in BTC, and it proved prophetic. I again question the wisdom of their investment in Ethereum.”

Is it the right time to buy? Coinbase CEO and a16z chief say yes

While academics see crypto investments as doom and gloom, industry executives from Coinbase and a16z say financial organizations should join the digital assets accumulation bandwagon before prices go back up. 

According to Coinbase’s lead, Brian Armstrong, there has been an increase in retail buying activity on crypto exchanges in recent weeks, as investors buy the dip.

“Retail users on Coinbase have been very resilient during these market conditions, according to our data: Vast majority of customers had native unit balances in Feb equal to or greater than their balances in December,” Armstrong wrote on X.

Speaking in a panel discussion at the World Crypto Forum in Korea last week, venture capital firm a16z CEO Anthony Albanese said:

“Financial services are moving money around, but Crypto is so good because it costs less than a penny and takes less than a second. Whether it’s a company or a financial institution, it’s a great time to enter crypto now.”

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