The quarterly 13F filings are in, and they paint a fascinating picture of how the world’s largest institutional investors are positioning themselves in the crypto market. May 16 marked the SEC deadline for institutional investment managers to disclose their Q1 equity holdings, revealing a clear divergence in strategy.
On one side, you have Harvard University—one of the world’s wealthiest endowments—drastically reducing its crypto exposure. On the other, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund is doubling down on Bitcoin, adding millions of shares to its already substantial position.
Here’s a breakdown of who bought, who sold, and what it all means.
Harvard Lowers Bitcoin and Exits Ethereum
Harvard Management Company moved decisively to reduce its crypto footprint in the first quarter of 2026. According to its March 31 filing, the endowment listed 3,044,612 IBIT shares worth roughly $117 million.
This represents a 43% reduction from the 5.35 million IBIT shares it held at the end of 2025. Notably, this wasn’t Harvard’s first trim—the endowment had already cut its IBIT stake by 21% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
But the most striking move was the complete elimination of its Ethereum position. Harvard had opened a 3,870,900-share position in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) in Q4 2025, valued at about $86.8 million at the time. The absence of ETHA in the new filing confirms the endowment fully exited that position during the quarter.
Taiwan Semiconductor now sits at the top of Harvard’s 13F portfolio, with Alphabet, Microsoft, and the SPDR Gold Trust all ranking ahead of IBIT in the endowment’s disclosed holdings.
Mubadala Keeps Building Its IBIT Position
While Harvard retreated, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company went in the opposite direction. Mubadala’s latest 13F filing listed 14,721,917 IBIT shares worth $565.6 million as of March 31.
That position rose 16% from 12.7 million shares at the end of the fourth quarter. Crypto.news reported that Mubadala has been consistently adding to IBIT since late 2024, with the position remaining above $500 million for three straight quarters.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), a Mubadala-affiliated entity, kept its IBIT position flat at 8,218,712 shares, valued at 315.8millionasofMarch31.Whilethedollarvaluedroppedapproximately92 million from the prior period, this reflected the ETF’s price decline during the quarter—not a reduction in shares held. A May 16 filing also transferred reporting responsibility for the position from Al Warda Investments to ADIC, though the beneficial owner did not change.
Dartmouth Adds Solana to the Mix
Dartmouth College took a different route. The school disclosed about 14millionincryptoETFexposure,includingroughly7.7 million in IBIT, about 3.5millionintheGrayscaleEthereumStakingETF,and—mostnotably—about3.3 million in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (SOL).
The Solana position stood out because it moved the endowment beyond the two largest crypto assets, making Dartmouth one of the first U.S. endowments to publicly extend crypto ETF exposure beyond BTC and ETH. While the allocation remains small relative to Dartmouth’s total endowment, the filing shows that regulated crypto products are reaching more public portfolios.
Other Institutional Moves
Several other institutions also adjusted their positions:
- Brown University kept its 212,500 IBIT shares unchanged through Q1.
- Emory University exited its small 4,450-share IBIT stake while raising its Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust holding from just over 1 million shares to 1,354,148 shares.
- Royal Bank of Canada expanded its direct IBIT holdings and increased its use of put and call options as a hedge.
- Bank of Nova Scotia added 214,370 IBIT shares after exiting a prior position in American Bitcoin shares.
- Barclays disclosed a position of roughly 4.46 million IBIT spot shares alongside substantial put and call option exposure tied to the ETF.
- Hong Kong-based Laurore reduced its IBIT stake from 8,786,279 shares to 6,846,279 shares during the period.
The Takeaway
The Q1 2026 13F filings reveal a clear divergence in institutional conviction. Some large investors, like Harvard, are reducing risk, taking profits, or reallocating to traditional assets like gold and tech stocks. Others, like Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, continue to accumulate Bitcoin ETF shares quarter after quarter, treating the asset as a strategic reserve.
Meanwhile, Dartmouth’s move into a Solana staking ETF suggests that institutional interest in digital assets is broadening beyond the Bitcoin-Ethereum duopoly. As more regulated crypto products become available, expect further experimentation from endowments, banks, and sovereign wealth funds in the quarters ahead.