Harvard’s Biggest Public Holding Isn’t Google – It’s Bitcoin

Harvard University’s endowment has made a striking portfolio move. According to its latest 13F filing for the period ending September 30, 2025, Harvard Management Company (HMC) now holds more exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) than to Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google.

The filing shows that HMC increased its Bitcoin ETF position by 257%, elevating IBIT to its largest publicly disclosed U.S. equity holding.

Harvard’s Top Public Equity Positions

Based on the most recent regulatory disclosure to the SEC, Harvard’s leading publicly reported holdings are:

• iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT): ~$442.8 million (6.81 million shares)
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): ~$322.8 million
• SPDR Gold Trust (GLD): ~$235.1 million
• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): ~$235.1 million
• Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): ~$157.1 million

IBIT now represents approximately 21.04% of Harvard’s publicly reported U.S. equities portfolio.

A Major Institutional Signal

Although IBIT is the largest disclosed equity position in the 13F filing, it accounts for roughly 1% of Harvard’s total $56.9 billion endowment. Still, the symbolic weight of the allocation is significant.

Harvard now ranks as the 16th-largest holder globally of the IBIT fund, according to analyst commentary surrounding the filing. For a traditionally conservative Ivy League endowment to allocate nearly half a billion dollars to a Bitcoin ETF signals a notable shift in institutional posture toward digital assets.

This is not a small tactical trade. It reflects a strategic allocation decision within one of the world’s most influential university endowments.

Bitcoin vs. Gold: A Dual Hedge Strategy

The filing also shows that Harvard nearly doubled its position in the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) during the same reporting period, increasing it to approximately $235 million. However, that allocation remains roughly half the size of its Bitcoin exposure.

The parallel increase in both gold and Bitcoin suggests a broader macro positioning strategy rather than a purely speculative bet. Both assets are commonly viewed as alternatives to traditional fiat exposure and potential hedges against monetary instability.

What This Means for the Market

Harvard’s move does not radically transform its overall endowment profile. At 1% of total assets, Bitcoin remains a relatively small component of the broader portfolio.

However, within the context of publicly disclosed U.S. equities, IBIT now sits at the top. That reordering of priorities, placing a Bitcoin ETF above Alphabet, sends a powerful institutional signal.

For digital assets, the message is clear: Bitcoin exposure is no longer confined to hedge funds and crypto-native firms. It is now embedded within the strategic allocations of legacy endowments that historically favored traditional equities and fixed income.

Whether others follow may depend less on ideology and more on performance. But the precedent has now been set.

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