Key Points
- The University of Austin plans to create a Bitcoin investment fund as part of its endowment strategy.
- The university is raising a $5 million Bitcoin fund within its $200 million endowment, marking a first in U.S. university endowments.
The University of Austin has plans to set up a Bitcoin investment fund to investigate the enduring potential of digital assets as part of its endowment strategy.
According to a Financial Times report, the university, with a history of 142 years, is amassing a $5 million Bitcoin fund within its $200 million endowment.
Endowment and Bitcoin Investment
An endowment is a collection of donated funds that a university invests to generate returns over time. The additional income is usually used to cover operational costs, scholarships, and research, among other things.
The Bitcoin fund of the University of Austin will be structured as a long-term investment. The university plans to hold Bitcoin for a minimum of five years.
Chad Thevenot, the senior vice president for advancement at the university, highlighted that the institution views Bitcoin as having long-term value, similar to stocks or real estate.
Collaboration and Other Universities
The fund was initially announced in May when the University of Austin joined forces with Bitcoin financial services firm Unchained. Unchained is managing custody of the fund’s Bitcoin holdings as part of the partnership.
The University of Austin is not the only university venturing into crypto, despite being the first to launch a dedicated Bitcoin fund.
In October, Emory University in Georgia became the first U.S. college endowment to gain exposure to Bitcoin. The university disclosed a $15.1 million investment in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Before this, Stanford University’s Blyth Fund revealed it had allocated 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin. In March, the endowment-backed student-run fund invested in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF following a proposal from Stanford’s Blockchain Club. The fund purchased Bitcoin at $45,000 per coin.