Harvard Sells 21% of Bitcoin, Makes $86.8M Ethereum Bet

• Harvard cut 21% of its Bitcoin ETF stake while opening an $87M Ethereum ETF position in Q4 filings.
• Bitcoin stayed Harvard’s largest crypto holding despite a sharp price drop and reduced exposure.
• The endowment also reshuffled tech stocks while adding a major railroad investment in the same quarter.

Harvard Management Company made a surprising shift in its cryptocurrency portfolio last quarter. The endowment sold 21% of its Bitcoin holdings while opening a massive new position in Ethereum. According to SEC filings released Friday, 

HMC purchased nearly 4 million shares of an Ethereum ETF worth approximately $87 million. This marks Harvard’s first direct investment in Ethereum. The move came during a turbulent period for digital assets across the board.

Bitcoin Position Reduced Despite Remaining Top Holding

HMC cut nearly 1.5 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust during Q4 of fiscal year 2025 according to a recent report. Despite the reduction, Bitcoin remains the endowment’s largest publicly disclosed holding at over $265 million. 

The trimming happened as Bitcoin experienced significant volatility throughout the quarter. The cryptocurrency peaked at roughly $126,000 in October 2025 before dropping to $88,429 by quarter’s end. 

Ethereum fared worse, losing about 28% of its value during the same period.

Experts Question Harvard’s Crypto Strategy

Finance professors expressed skepticism about the endowment’s continued cryptocurrency investments. Andrew F. Siegel, an emeritus professor at the University of Washington, called HMC’s Bitcoin investment “risky.” 

He noted Bitcoin’s 22.8% year-to-date decline and its lack of intrinsic value. Avanidhar Subrahmanyam from UCLA voiced deeper concerns about the overall crypto strategy. 

He questioned whether HMC could provide a clear valuation method for either Bitcoin or Ethereum. Subrahmanyam argued that underdiversified positions in speculative assets don’t make sense for Harvard’s endowment.

Tech Holdings See Mixed Results

Beyond cryptocurrency, Harvard adjusted several major technology positions during the quarter, according to the report. The endowment more than tripled its Broadcom stake, a 222% increase, reversing a previous quarter’s cut. 

HMC also boosted Google shares by 25% and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company by 45%. However, other tech giants saw reductions. Amazon shares dropped by 36%, Microsoft by 21%, and Nvidia by 30%. 

Siegel suggested investor anxiety over AI investment costs may have influenced these decisions. The market remains nervous about AI training and deployment expenses, he explained.

HMC also entered a $141 million position in Union Pacific Corporation. The railroad operator announced plans to merge with Norfolk Southern in July 2025. The deal would create America’s first transcontinental railroad. 

Meanwhile, Harvard exited two positions entirely. The endowment sold all 1.1 million shares of Light & Wonder, Inc., its former second-largest holding. It also liquidated its 92,000-share stake in Maze Therapeutics. Harvard maintained positions in Klarna Group and Zillow, both of which were added last quarter. 

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