According to a recent report, the endowments of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, and the University of North Carolina have all invested in one or more cryptoasset funds. While institutional money has not yet flooded the crypto space, investment from such prime endowments could be a sign that a surplus of institutional capital may not be far off.
Harvard’s endowment is reported to have hit nearly $40 billion during 2018, making it the world’s largest university endowment. In the largest university endowment rankings of 2017, Stanford’s ranked fourth, while MIT’s placed sixth. Additionally, Dartmouth and the University of North Carolina were among the top 25 largest endowments.
According to Chief Executive Officer of the Harvard Management Company, N.P. “Narv” Narvekar,
“As is well known, HMC, as an organization, and the endowment portfolio are still in the early stages of a multi-year transition, with much work ahead. Thanks to the exceptional team we have at HMC, we are confident in the direction of the organization and the long-term prospects for the endowment.”
Yale University Endowment Invests in Two Crypto-Focused Funds
Notably, the endowment of Yale University recently made its first investments in the cryptoasset space. CNBC reported last week that the Yale University endowment invested in Andreessen Horowitz’s new crypto-dedicated fund, as well as Paradigm, a new crypto fund being launched by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang, and former researcher at Pantera Capital Charles Noyes.
Universities Offering Crypto-Related Classes
While university endowments begin to dabble in crypto, universities have also been offering a variety of cryptoasset-related courses. According to a recent Coinbase report, 42 percent of the top 50 universities offer at least one course on cryptoassets or blockchain technology.
Cornell and Stanford ranked number nine and ten, respectively, among the top universities offering crypto-related courses. Moreover, the National University of Singapore offered five crypto-related courses while the University of Pennsylvania offers six.
Many of the leading universities, including Cambridge University, have also conducted considerable research in the cryptoasset space. Furthermore, the University of Lucerne, a public Swiss university, accepts Bitcoin as payment for tuition.
The recent show of interest from endowments of top universities may be indicative that institutional money is making its way into the crypto space.
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