Brown University Buys Bitcoin ETF, Becoming First Ivy League to Embrace Crypto

Brown University, one of the oldest and most prestigious U.S. academic institutions, has made its first move into cryptocurrency. According to a new 13F filing, the Ivy League school purchased 105,000 shares—worth nearly $5 million—of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as of March 31, 2025.

With this investment, Brown becomes the third U.S. university to gain Bitcoin exposure through IBIT, following Emory University and the University of Austin. However, it marks a historic first for the Ivy League, signaling increasing institutional confidence in Bitcoin as a long-term asset.

Brown’s $7.2 billion endowment, which returned 11.3% in 2024, is typically allocated across private equity, fixed income, real estate, and other traditional assets. The university’s addition of Bitcoin via a regulated ETF underscores how digital assets are being incorporated into mainstream investment strategies.

The news comes as BlackRock’s IBIT continues to break records. The ETF has now seen 13 consecutive days of inflows, including nearly $1 billion in a single day on April 28. According to SoSoValue, IBIT’s total assets under management now exceed $58.7 billion.

Institutional demand for Bitcoin has surged in 2025, with Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley recently attributing the cryptocurrency’s latest rally largely to institutional buying pressure. Brown’s involvement adds further credibility to this trend, suggesting more endowments and funds may follow suit.

As the first Ivy League institution to invest in Bitcoin, Brown University’s move may represent a tipping point in the digital asset’s journey toward mainstream acceptance, especially within conservative and risk-averse sectors like higher education endowments.