Did Harvard’s total crypto holdings go up or down?

https://decrypt.co/358162/harvard-cuts-bitcoin-etf-stake-adds-ethereum-exposure-in-q4-filing

Harvard's total crypto ETF holdings actually went slightly up overall, though the composition changed significantly:

• Q3 position: ~$350 million in Bitcoin ETF alone (6.8M shares of IBIT)
• Q4 position: ~$352.6 million combined ($265.8M in Bitcoin ETF + $86.8M in Ethereum ETF)

So the total is roughly flat-to-slightly-higher in dollar terms, but the Bitcoin share count was cut by about 1.46 million shares (roughly a 21% reduction). The addition of a new ~$86.8M Ethereum position largely offset the Bitcoin trim.

But of course, most general/crypto media reported it just as Harvard ditching BTC.

Other interesting points from the article:

Harvard's journey into crypto has been rapid. It first disclosed a $116 million Bitcoin ETF position in August 2024, tripled it to ~$350 million by Q3, and now in Q4 it has started diversifying across crypto assets rather than just adding more Bitcoin. This is a notable evolution for what is the world's largest university endowment (~$50 billion).

The article highlights that industry observers are split on the reasoning behind the move. Some see it as a relative value trade — a bet that Ethereum is undervalued compared to Bitcoin. Others view it as a maturity signal — Harvard treating crypto as a full asset class rather than a single-asset bet. There's also a theory that it may be driven by compliance or allocation limits, where Harvard needed to trim Bitcoin to make room for Ethereum within an overall digital asset cap.

The broader context is also notable: this rebalancing happened during a period of choppy crypto markets with net outflows from Bitcoin ETFs in late 2025 through early 2026, yet Harvard maintained (and even slightly grew) its overall crypto exposure — which several commentators interpret as a sign of sustained long-term institutional conviction.

The most striking takeaway is the quote: "When a $50 billion endowment starts treating digital assets as an asset class rather than a single bet, that's a maturity signal." This framing suggests Harvard's move could encourage other large endowments and institutions to similarly diversify within crypto rather than treat it as a monolithic Bitcoin allocation.