Harvard loses $40M on Bitcoin bets as crypto markets tumble

Harvard’s Bitcoin ETF position is now about $40 million underwater after a sharp crypto selloff wiped value off its massive stake, according to the SEC filing behind its latest disclosure.

The school ramped up its holding in iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF last quarter, pushing the position close to $500 million. Even after a short rebound on Tuesday, Bitcoin is still down more than 20% this quarter.

The drop ran through the whole market at once. It hit Wall Street firms, retail traders, and even holders of the U.S. president’s meme coin with Donald Trump back in the White House.

Harvard stayed in as prices slid. Traders across exchanges logged heavy liquidations while long holders watched gains from earlier in the year thin fast.

If Harvard had sold in early October, the school could have walked away flat or with a small win before the slide deepened. The average price paid is not public. If the school still holds some or all of the 4.9 million shares it picked up last quarter, the best-case outcome now shows a 14% loss.

That math assumes the buy happened in early July, when Bitcoin traded at its lowest level for the quarter. Under that timing, Harvard would have spent about $294 million on shares now worth roughly $255 million.

Another 1.9 million shares bought in the second quarter, before the 2025 run heated up, likely sit on smaller losses or narrow gains. The exact mix depends on timing.

Bitcoin slump cuts into Harvard’s trade

On paper, the loss barely dents Harvard’s balance sheet. The school runs a $57 billion endowment, the largest in the United States. The Bitcoin position listed as of September 30 made up less than 1% of total assets. Still, the timing shows how deeply Bitcoin now sits inside large institutional portfolios. Big money kept flowing in even after prices ran far ahead of past cycles. Before the pullback, Bitcoin had gained 34% in 2025, setting a record above $126,000.

Harvard’s wider investment record shows mixed results over time. Over the past decade, the endowment delivered an 8.2% annualized return, ranking ninth out of ten among Ivy League and peer schools tracked by Markov Processes International. Results improved under current chief N. P. “Narv” Narvekar.

During his eight-year run, the endowment posted a 9.6% annualized return. For the year ending June 30, Harvard reported an 11.9% gain, trailing Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 14.8% and Stanford University at 14.3%.

Other schools hold smaller crypto stakes

Other universities also showed exposure during the third quarter, though at far lower levels. Brown University reported about $14 million in the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF.

Emory University disclosed roughly $52 million in the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF. Paper losses do not always force action for long-term investors like endowments and pension systems as long as cash remains available in other parts of the portfolio. Many large funds have lived through extreme crypto swings before.

Public pensions were among the groups hit during the market crash in 2022. Since that low point, Bitcoin prices have more than quintupled, restoring value for investors who stayed in.

Some investors still reject crypto as a fit for long holding periods. Jay Hatfield, chief executive of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, summed up that view in plain terms when he said, “When you’re gambling, you need to sell it, not hold it.” Harvard’s position stays tied to the next move in Bitcoin today.

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