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Harvard Management Company shifts crypto allocation
Harvard Management Company (HMC), the endowment's investment arm, has adjusted its cryptocurrency allocation, trimming exposure to Bitcoin and initiating a meaningful position in Ethereum. The changes were disclosed in HMC's latest filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and reflect a strategic portfolio reallocation among spot ETFs.
What HMC bought and sold
According to the SEC report, Harvard sold roughly 21% of its holdings in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) — about 1.5 million shares — while making its first recorded purchase of BlackRock's spot Ethereum ETF (ETHA), acquiring approximately 3.87 million shares valued near $86.8 million. These moves mark a rotation from a heavier Bitcoin weighting into Ethereum-related spot ETF exposure.
Implications for institutional crypto and ETFs
While the reallocation suggests growing institutional confidence in Ethereum and spot Ethereum ETFs, Bitcoin remains a core digital-asset holding for Harvard, with an estimated value of about $265 million as of the end of Q4 2025. The shift highlights broader themes in crypto investing — diversification, ETF adoption, and strategic allocation by large institutional investors.
For crypto markets, HMC's trade may signal increasing appetite among endowments and other institutional investors for multi-asset crypto exposure rather than single-asset concentration. Monitoring ETF flows, BlackRock’s IBIT and ETHA activity, and institutional disclosures will be key for assessing future trends in institutional crypto allocation.
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