Key Takeaways
- Brown College disclosed a $4.9 million funding in Bitcoin by means of BlackRock’s IBIT ETF.
- The funding represents 2.3% of Brown’s $216 million reported fairness holdings.
- Different universities, together with Austin, Stanford, and Emory, have additionally begun allocating to Bitcoin.
Brown College has revealed a $4.9 million funding in Bitcoin by means of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Belief (IBIT), marking the Ivy League faculty’s first identified foray into the asset.
The disclosure was made in a 13F submitting submitted to the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee.
Particulars of the funding
The college acquired 105,000 shares of IBIT throughout Q1 2025, representing roughly 2.3% of its $216 million in reported fairness holdings.
BlackRock’s IBIT & institutional curiosity
BlackRock’s IBIT, launched in January 2024 after SEC approval, has quickly gained traction amongst establishments for offering direct Bitcoin publicity with out the complexities of managing the asset.
As of March 31, IBIT held round 576,038 BTC, with internet belongings totaling $47.78 billion.
Rising college curiosity in Bitcoin
Universities have traditionally been cautious towards Bitcoin, however Brown joins a rising record of colleges displaying curiosity.
In February, the College of Austin introduced a $5 million allocation to Bitcoin, held in partnership with Unchained and dedicated to a five-year minimal maintain.
Stanford and Emory have additionally disclosed comparable investments by means of regulated merchandise.
Institutional conduct shift
The transfer alerts a shift in institutional conduct, significantly amongst long-term asset managers who now use acquainted funding constructions like ETFs to achieve Bitcoin publicity.
Bitcoin market context
On the time of Brown’s disclosure, Bitcoin was buying and selling just below $97,000 with a market cap of $1.92 trillion, in line with CryptoSlate.