Harvard University’s $56.9 billion endowment made its first disclosed Ethereum investment in the fourth quarter while trimming its bitcoin exposure.
New ethereum position
Harvard Management Company, which oversees the endowment, bought nearly 3.9 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust.
The stake was valued at about $86.8 million at quarter-end.
Bitcoin ETF position reduced
Over the same period, Harvard cut its position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust by roughly 21%, selling around 1.5 million shares.
Despite the reduction, the bitcoin ETF remained Harvard’s largest publicly disclosed crypto-related holding, valued at $265.8 million.
Market context
The portfolio shift came during a steep bitcoin drawdown.
Bitcoin fell from an all-time high near $125,000 in October to end the quarter just below $90,000.
At the time of reporting, bitcoin was trading around $67,897, down roughly 28% over the prior month.
Strategist comments
Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee said worsening sentiment and weak price action suggested the market was in late-stage capitulation.
Lee said in an interview:
“We should be pretty close, because sentiment is terrible. The price action’s been bad.”
He cited strategist Tom DeMark’s view that bitcoin could slide toward $60,000 and that ethereum had bottomed near $1,890 after failing to hold support around $2,400.
