Harvard University sells off Ethereum ETF, Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund increases IBIT holdings

According to ChainCatcher and a report by The Block, sovereign wealth funds, universities, and banks have recently disclosed their 13F holdings reports for the first quarter of 2026. Regarding sovereign wealth funds, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala increased its holdings in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (stock code IBIT), with shares rising from 12,702,323 to 14,721,917, representing more than $90 million in new positions and a total holding value close to $660 million. The Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), under Mubadala, maintained its IBIT holdings unchanged, holding 8,218,712 IBIT shares worth $315.8 million.

Several university endowments reported that their cryptocurrency ETF holdings have remained largely stable. Harvard University’s endowment reported holding 3,044,612 IBIT shares, valued at approximately $117 million. This marks a 43% reduction compared to the 5.35 million IBIT shares held at the end of 2025; previously, Harvard had already reduced its position by 21% in the fourth quarter. IBIT is no longer its largest holding (now surpassed by TSMC, Alphabet, Microsoft, and SPDR Gold Trust). Harvard University also fully liquidated the $86.8 million position in BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF that was established in the previous quarter.

Dartmouth College reported holding 201,531 IBIT shares, worth just over $9 million, unchanged from the previous quarter. The college transferred its Ethereum ETF holdings from Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust to Grayscale’s Ethereum Staking ETF, while keeping its 178,148 shares unchanged. Dartmouth College also disclosed a new position in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, holding 304,803 shares currently valued at nearly $3.67 million. This marks the first time an institutional endowment fund has indicated an interest in expanding its investments beyond Bitcoin or Ethereum into other cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, Brown University maintained its holding of 212,500 IBIT shares, while Emory University consolidated its Bitcoin fund holdings from two funds into one. The school fully liquidated 4,450 IBIT shares while increasing its Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust holdings from just over 1 million shares to 1,354,148 shares.

Traditional financial institutions have also actively rebalanced and hedged their positions. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) increased its direct holdings in IBIT and raised its use of put and call options for hedging. Scotiabank increased its IBIT holdings by 214,370 shares after selling off its previous holdings in Trump-related US Bitcoin stocks. Barclays also disclosed its IBIT position, including approximately 4.46 million spot shares and a large amount of put and call option positions related to the ETF. Hong Kong-based Laurore reduced its IBIT holdings from 8,786,279 shares to 6,846,279 shares.