Non-profit subsidiary Harvard Management Company has trimmed back on its Bitcoin holdings via reductions in its holdings of iShares Bitcoin Trust; at the same time, it also picked up considerable investment in Ethereum ETFs, as per a report by university daily The Harvard Crimson.
The reduction was 21% of its holdings in Bitcoin, which is 1.5 million shares in iShares Bitcoin Trust. The new purchase in Ethereum was 4 million shares in an ETF.
Faculty from across America’s top universities, including Harvard, are questioning the heavy investment in cryptocurrency. UCLA Finance professor Avanidhar Subrahmanyam said the company’s strategy towards cryptocurrency was concerning due to its lack of intrinsic value as an asset class.
Harvard Management Company is a subsidiary of Harvard University, and it focuses on managing the group’s investments, holding a diversified portfolio of equities and investments across multiple sectors. It was founded in 1974.
The university’s endowment is valued at $56.9 billion. The non-profit maintains positions in tech stocks and has maintained an investment in the BNPL company Klarna. It has also added to its stake in Google and TSMC by 25% and 45% respectively.