United States institution Harvard saw its Bitcoin ETF position decline by about $40 million after a sharp crypto selloff wiped value off its massive stake, according to the SEC filing behind its latest disclosure. Harvard improved its holding in the 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 affected the entire market, hitting Wall Street firms, retail traders, and even holders of the US president’s meme coin with Donald Trump back in the White House. Harvard kept its position even as prices slid. Traders across exchanges logged heavy liquidations while long holders watched gains from earlier in the year thin fast.
Harvard suffers a balance dent amid Bitcoin decline
If Harvard had sold its holdings around 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. On paper, the loss barely dents the school’s balance sheet. Harvard 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. Other investments made by Harvard have shown 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 the 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%.
