Harvard University Endowment Trims Bitcoin Stake and Diversifies into Ethereum
On February 16, 2026, recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings revealed that the Harvard Management Company (HMC), which oversees the university’s fifty-five-billion-dollar endowment, significantly altered its cryptocurrency exposure during the fourth quarter. The data indicates that Harvard reduced its position in the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by approximately twenty-one percent, selling roughly 1.48 million shares. Despite this reduction, Bitcoin remains the endowment’s largest publicly disclosed U.S. equity holding, with the remaining 5.35 million shares valued at approximately 265.8 million dollars. This move marks the first time Harvard has pared back its Bitcoin exposure since initiating the position in mid-2025. Market analysts suggest the sale could represent a tactical rebalancing after Bitcoin nearly doubled in value last year, or a defensive measure to mitigate risk during the current market downturn that saw the asset drop from a 126,000-dollar peak in October to under 90,000 dollars by year-end.
Initiating a Strategic Position in the Ethereum Ecosystem
Simultaneous with its Bitcoin reduction, Harvard Management Company established a significant new position in the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), acquiring approximately 3.87 million shares. This initial investment, valued at roughly 86.8 million dollars, marks the university’s first publicly disclosed entry into an Ethereum-specific investment vehicle. By diversifying into Ethereum, the endowment is effectively broadening its bet on the digital asset economy, moving beyond Bitcoin’s “digital gold” narrative to capture exposure to the world’s leading smart-contract platform. Some industry observers interpret this “relative value trade” as a signal that the endowment managers believe Ethereum is currently undervalued compared to Bitcoin, particularly given its central role in the burgeoning fields of tokenized real-world assets and autonomous AI agents. This shift brings Harvard’s total combined spot cryptocurrency ETF exposure to over 352 million dollars, representing a sophisticated, multi-asset approach to the emerging decentralized financial landscape.
Academic Skepticism and the Debate Over Intrinsic Value in Crypto
The endowment’s deepening commitment to digital assets has not been without controversy within the Harvard academic community. Andrew F. Siegel, an emeritus professor of finance at the University of Washington and a frequent commentator for The Harvard Crimson, has characterized the Bitcoin investment as “exceptionally risky,” particularly as the asset has posted losses of nearly twenty-three percent since the start of 2026. Other critics, including UCLA professor Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, argued that the addition of Ethereum only amplifies their reservations, asserting that cryptocurrency remains an “unproven asset class” with no clear valuation methodology. Despite these academic concerns, HMC appears to be maintaining a long-term conviction in the technological transformation of global finance. By holding larger stakes in Bitcoin and Ethereum than in legacy technology firms like Alphabet or Microsoft, Harvard is positioning its endowment at the vanguard of the “on-chain” economy. As the university navigates the current market volatility, its dual-asset strategy serves as a high-profile case study in how the world’s most prestigious institutional investors are evolving their views on the long-term utility of public blockchain infrastructure.
