Ether sees Harvard add ETHA as IBIT cut 21%

Harvard trimmed Bitcoin ETF 21% and opened $87M ETHA position

Harvard Management Company trimmed its Bitcoin ETF exposure by roughly 21% in Q4 2025 and initiated a new Ethereum ETF stake near $87 million, as reported by The Harvard Crimson. The filing details indicate a sale of about 1.5 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) while opening a position of nearly 4 million shares in the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), valued around $86.8 million. The data also show Bitcoin remained the endowment’s largest publicly disclosed holding, worth over $265 million at quarter-end.

The portfolio shift consolidates Harvard’s use of exchange-listed crypto vehicles. Both moves sit within regulated ETF wrappers, IBIT for Bitcoin and ETHA for Ethereum, providing public-market liquidity, daily pricing, and standardized disclosure.

Why it matters: diversification via regulated Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs

Diversification is the immediate read-through: trimming a concentrated Bitcoin position while adding Ethereum creates a broader, two-asset crypto sleeve inside a transparent, exchange-traded structure. These vehicles can simplify governance and risk controls relative to direct token custody by centralizing pricing, liquidity, and counterparty management within the ETF ecosystem.

Institutionally, the step is notable because endowment allocations to spot crypto ETFs remain uncommon; according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, participation by a marquee endowment is considered extremely rare and bolsters the case for ETFs as institutional on-ramps. That framing helps explain why regulated, exchange-listed instruments have become the preferred pathway for some fiduciaries seeking limited, auditable crypto exposure.

Skeptics counter that price volatility and unresolved valuation frameworks can challenge endowment risk budgets even when exposure is wrapped in ETFs. “Bitcoin lacks intrinsic value,” said Andrew F. Siegel, emeritus finance professor at the University of Washington, highlighting concerns about incorporating such assets into long-horizon portfolios.

Immediate impact: rebalanced crypto exposure within Harvard Management Company

In practical terms, the latest trade resets sizing rather than signaling a wholesale strategy reversal. A smaller IBIT line paired with a new ETHA allocation rebalances the crypto sleeve while preserving liquidity, audit trails, and standardized reporting cadence associated with exchange-traded products.

Any immediate market effect should be interpreted cautiously. Form 13F snapshots are backward-looking and do not reveal intraperiod trades, hedges, or non‑U.S. exposures, so the disclosure supports a measured conclusion: Harvard reweighted, but the filing alone cannot establish timing motives or risk triggers.

What 13F filings reveal, and the limits of disclosure

Form 13F reports long positions in U.S.-listed securities at quarter-end, offering position names, share counts, and reported values, but not derivatives, intraday activity, or private investments. As a result, the public tally of IBIT and ETHA should be read as a minimum view of crypto exposure and a historical snapshot, not a real-time or comprehensive record.

At the time of this writing, broader market context shows crypto-adjacent equities were active; based on data from Yahoo, Coinbase Global (COIN) last traded around 166.00 after hours, up about 1.02%, following a regular-session close near 164.32.