Harvard Commits $116.6M to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, Outpacing Google Stake

Harvard University has quietly emerged as one of the largest institutional investors in Bitcoin ETFs, according to newly released SEC filings. The documents show that the Ivy League giant allocated $116.6 million to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in Q2 2025 — a move that places the ETF as Harvard’s fifth-largest portfolio holding.

The scale of the investment is striking. Harvard’s IBIT stake eclipses its position in Alphabet, Google’s parent company, by roughly $3 million, while being surpassed only by its shares in Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Booking Holdings Inc. This marks Harvard’s only direct commitment to a Web3 asset, despite its historically cautious approach to cryptocurrency exposure.

Although the university maintains substantial positions in tech-adjacent firms such as NVIDIA, IBIT stands out as its sole crypto-specific investment. BlackRock’s IBIT has maintained dominance in the Bitcoin ETF market, often considered the go-to choice for both retail and institutional investors.

The timing of Harvard’s entry remains uncertain, but the investment comes amid shifting ETF dynamics — with BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF recently overtaking IBIT in weekly inflows. Harvard’s endorsement, however, could bolster IBIT’s reputation, signaling renewed institutional confidence in Bitcoin even as short-term ETF sentiment fluctuates.