Dartmouth crypto ETF holdings drop 15% in Q2

Dartmouth College’s crypto ETF holdings have fallen 15% to about $12.4 million in the second quarter, even though its $9 billion endowment kept the same number of fund shares.

Dartmouth crypto ETF holdings have fallen to $12.4 million

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted Thursday showed that Dartmouth’s trustees held about $12.4 million across three U.S.-listed crypto funds as of June 30.

Dartmouth reported positions in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, the Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF, and the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF. Through the three products, the Ivy League university gained price exposure to Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana without reporting direct ownership of the tokens.

Compared with the endowment’s March 31 disclosure, the combined position declined by about $2.2 million from $14.6 million. The 15% reduction came entirely from changes in the funds’ reported market values because Dartmouth disclosed the same share count for each product at both quarter-end dates.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Dartmouth’s first-quarter filing valued its Bitwise Solana fund holding at about $3.3 million and its Grayscale Ethereum position at roughly $3.5 million. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF accounted for the largest part of the portfolio at approximately $7.7 million.

At $12.4 million, the three positions represented about 0.14% of Dartmouth’s estimated $9 billion endowment. The SEC report covers qualifying U.S.-listed securities and does not provide a complete account of the university’s assets, which may also include private investments, bonds, property, and holdings that do not appear on Form 13F.

Crypto prices have remained below March 31 levels

During the months following Dartmouth’s first-quarter disclosure, all three underlying cryptocurrencies lost value. Bitcoin closed March 31 at $68,233.31, while Ether finished at $2,104.71 and Solana at $83.11, according to historical data from Yahoo Finance.

By Aug. 15, Bitcoin was trading near $62,976, leaving it about 7.7% below its March 31 close. Ether had declined approximately 10.7% to around $1,880, while Solana’s price near $75.20 represented a drop of roughly 9.5%.

Fund values do not always change by exactly the same percentage as their underlying assets. Fees, staking rewards, each fund’s share structure, and differences between market-closing times can affect the reported value. Dartmouth’s 15% quarterly decline refers to the combined value of its ETF shares on June 30, rather than a calculated loss from directly holding BTC, ETH, or SOL through Aug. 15.

The filing also does not show Dartmouth’s purchase prices or indicate whether the positions produced a realized gain or loss. Since no shares were sold between the two reported quarter-end dates, the $2.2 million decline represents a reduction in disclosed market value rather than confirmed proceeds from a sale.

Dartmouth began reporting crypto-linked investments in 2025, placing it among the first U.S. universities to disclose digital asset exposure through exchange-traded products. Its choice of listed funds allows the endowment to hold crypto-linked securities within conventional investment and reporting systems instead of managing wallets and private keys.

SEC filings provide a delayed view of university holdings

Form 13F requires institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in qualifying securities under management to disclose certain long positions every quarter. The reports generally cover U.S.-listed shares, ETFs, some convertible debt, and listed options.

As explained in a June guide to 13F reports, the documents present positions held on the final day of a quarter and may be filed as many as 45 days later. Dartmouth’s latest report therefore shows what the endowment held on June 30, not necessarily its portfolio on the Thursday when the filing became public.

The form does not disclose short positions, hedges, or most private investments. It also excludes cryptocurrencies held directly because tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether are not Section 13(f) securities. Dartmouth could have other digital asset exposure outside the three disclosed funds, although the filing neither confirms nor rules out such holdings.

For U.S. investors, the report confirms that the university used securities traded through regulated markets rather than direct token custody. BlackRock’s IBIT provides spot Bitcoin exposure, while the Grayscale and Bitwise products combine exposure to their respective assets with staking provisions under each fund’s structure.

Dartmouth’s unchanged share counts also illustrate the distinction between a portfolio decision and a valuation change. A lower dollar figure in a quarterly filing does not by itself establish that an institution reduced its position because the value can fall while the number of shares remains constant.

A similar effect appeared in Morgan Stanley’s second-quarter filing. The bank increased its IBIT share count by 23% to approximately 16.5 million shares, but the position’s reported value fell nearly 18% from about $667 million to $549 million as Bitcoin and the fund declined during the quarter, according to an Aug. 14 report on its holdings.

Harvard has taken a different approach to crypto ETFs

Other university endowments have changed their crypto ETF positions rather than simply recording lower valuations. Harvard Management Company eliminated its BlackRock iShares Ethereum Trust holding during the first quarter after reporting 3,870,900 shares worth $86.82 million at the end of 2025.

Harvard also reduced its BlackRock Bitcoin ETF position from 5,353,612 shares at the end of 2025 to 3,044,612 shares on March 31. The remaining IBIT position was valued at approximately $116.97 million, according to its first-quarter SEC disclosure.

The filing did not state why Harvard exited its Ether position or cut its Bitcoin ETF stake. Unlike Dartmouth’s quarter-to-quarter report, Harvard’s filing showed that the endowment had changed the number of shares it owned.

Harvard, whose endowment is valued at about $57 billion, had not disclosed its second-quarter 2026 holdings as of Friday. Its next Form 13F will show only the qualifying U.S.-listed securities held on June 30 and will not reveal any trades completed after the quarter ended.