Emory University moved further into bitcoin during the third quarter.
The Georgia-based private research university reported holding over 1 million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust on Sept. 30, according to a 13F filing Thursday. This stake was worth nearly $52 billion at the time, though considerably less now at current prices. The school held just under 500,000 shares of the fund at the end of the second quarter.
The university first disclosed a position in Grayscale’s trust in October 2024, then valued at just over $15 million.
Emory’s much smaller position in BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF was unchanged in the third quarter and valued at just about $290,000.
Asset managers’ interest in hard assets was also reflected in a new move into BlackRock’s iShares Gold Trust (IAU), with nearly $79 million worth of shares in this fund at the end of the third quarter.
The university’s endowment also modestly increased its stake in crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN). It now holds nearly 4,500 shares worth close to $1.2 million, up slightly from the 4,312 shares it has held since last year.
Endowments are long-term investment funds typically created to support non-profits such as universities, hospitals or religious institutions. Like pension funds, they tend to favor relatively conservative strategies, making their increasing interest in bitcoin through regulated ETFs a notable shift.
Emory’s broader embrace of bitcoin ETFs can be seen as part of a slow but steady thaw among institutional investors. While still a small part of its overall portfolio, the size and pace of Emory’s bitcoin allocations signal a growing comfort level with the asset — especially when held in familiar wrappers like ETFs.
