The University of Austin is launching a Bitcoin investment fund as part of its endowment strategy, raising $5 million to be integrated into its $200 million endowment.
This makes it the first U.S. university to establish a dedicated Bitcoin fund within its endowment portfolio.
The university plans to hold Bitcoin for at least five years, with senior vice president Chad Thevenot suggesting that its potential value could rival that of traditional assets, such as stocks and real estate. This bold move reflects a progressive approach to endowment management and investment diversification.
The fund was announced in May and publicly revealed when the university partnered with Unchained, a Bitcoin financial services firm responsible for securing the fund’s Bitcoin holdings under this agreement.
While the University of Austin is taking the lead in establishing a dedicated Bitcoin fund, other universities are also exploring opportunities in cryptocurrency. In October, Emory University in Georgia became the first college endowment in the U.S. to invest in Bitcoin, revealing a $15.1 million investment in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust through an SEC filing. Before this, Stanford University’s Blyth Fund announced that it had allocated 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin. In March, this student-managed fund, supported by an endowment, made its initial Bitcoin investment by purchasing shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF, following a proposal from Stanford’s Blockchain Club. The fund acquired Bitcoin for $45,000 per coin.
Notably, the University of Wyoming is establishing a Bitcoin research institute led by Associate Professor Bradley Rettler, set to open in Fall 2024. The institute aims to produce high-quality, peer-reviewed studies on Bitcoin, addressing the lack of rigorous academic research. Rettler criticized a flawed 2018 study that linked Bitcoin to global warming as an example of misinformation. The nonprofit institute will host workshops, offer academic prizes, conduct seminars, and accept Bitcoin donations as part of its investment strategy.
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