Dartmouth crypto ETF holdings fell 15% in the second quarter

Dartmouth College's crypto ETF holdings shrank 15% to approximately $12.4 million

Dartmouth College's crypto ETF holdings fell 15% in the second quarter to approximately $12.4 million, although the number of fund shares held by its $9 billion endowment fund remained unchanged.

Summary

Dartmouth College reported that the market value of crypto ETF holdings fell by approximately US$2.2 million in the second quarter. The endowment maintains positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana-related funds. As of August 15, cryptocurrency prices are still lower than March 31 levels. Dartmouth College's crypto ETFs account for approximately 0.14% of its estimated $9 billion endowment fund.

Dartmouth Crypto ETF positions drop to $12.4 million

Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday showed that as of June 30, Dartmouth College trustees held approximately $12.4 million in three U.S. listed crypto funds. Dartmouth College reported on its positions in the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust, the Gray Level Ethereum Pledge ETF and the Bitwise Solana Pledge ETF. Through these three products, the Ivy League school has indirect exposure to price fluctuations in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana without having to directly hold the tokens.

The total value of these positions decreased by approximately US$2.2 million from US$14.6 million compared to the March 31 disclosure. The 15% decline is entirely due to changes in the fund's reported market value, as Dartmouth College maintained the same number of shares in each product in both quarter-end disclosures.

According to previous reports, Dartmouth College's first-quarter documents showed that its Bitwise Solana fund was worth approximately US$3.3 million and its gray Ethereum position was approximately US$3.5 million. BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF is the largest part of the portfolio, at approximately $7.7 million.

At $12.4 million, these three positions account for approximately 0.14% of Dartmouth College's estimated $9 billion endowment fund. The SEC report covers eligible U.S. listed securities and does not fully reflect all of the university's assets, which may also include private equity investments, bonds, real estate and other positions that do not appear on Form 13F.

Cryptocurrency prices remain below March 31 levels

In the months after Dartmouth College's first-quarter disclosure, all three underlying cryptocurrencies fell. According to historical data from Yahoo Finance, Bitcoin closed at $68,233.31 on March 31, Ethereum closed at $2,104.71, and Solana closed at $83.11. As of August 15, Bitcoin was trading at close to US$62976, down approximately 7.7% from its closing price on March 31. Ethereum fell about 10.7% to around $1880, and Solana prices fell about $75.20, a drop of about 9.5%.

Fund values do not always change in proportion to the underlying asset prices. Differences in fees, pledge incentives, share structure of each fund, and market closing times may all affect reported value. Dartmouth College's 15% quarterly decline refers to the total market value of its ETF shares as of June 30, rather than the calculated loss of direct holdings of BTC, ETH or SOL as of August 15.

The document also does not show Dartmouth's purchase price or indicate whether the positions generated realized gains or losses. As no shares were sold between the ends of the two reporting quarters, the $2.2 million decline represented a decrease in disclosed market value rather than confirmed sales proceeds.

Dartmouth College will begin reporting cryptocurrency-related investments in 2025, becoming one of the first U.S. universities to disclose exposure to digital assets through exchange-traded products. Its choice of listed funds allows endowment funds to hold crypto-related securities within traditional investment and reporting systems without having to manage wallets and private keys.

SEC filing provides a lagging view of university positions

Form 13F requires institutional investment managers managing at least $100 million in eligible securities to disclose certain long positions quarterly. These reports typically cover U.S. listed stocks, ETFs, some convertible bonds and listed options. The form does not disclose short positions, hedges or most private equity investments. It also excludes directly held cryptocurrencies, because tokens such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are not part of 13(f) securities. Dartmouth College may have exposure to other digital assets in addition to the three disclosed funds, but the document neither confirmed nor ruled out this possibility.

For U.S. investors, the report confirms that the university uses securities traded through regulated markets rather than directly escrow tokens. BlackRock's IBIT provides spot bitcoin exposure, while Gray and Bitwise's products combine underlying asset exposure and pledge terms under their respective fund structures.

The same amount of Dartmouth College's shareholding also illustrates the difference between investment decisions and changes in valuation. The lower dollar figure in the quarterly filing does not in itself indicate that institutions have reduced their positions, as values may fall while the number of shares remains the same.

Similar effects also appeared in Morgan Stanley's second-quarter filing. According to an Aug. 14 position report, the bank increased its IBIT stake by 23% to approximately 16.5 million shares, but the reported market value of the position fell nearly 18% from approximately $667 million to $549 million due to declines in Bitcoin and the fund during the quarter.

Harvard University takes a different strategy on crypto ETFs

Other university endowments have changed their crypto ETF positions rather than just recording lower valuations. Harvard Management cleared its BlackRock iShares Ethereum trust position in the first quarter after reporting holding 3870900 shares worth US$86.82 million at the end of 2025. Harvard also reduced its BlackRock Bitcoin ETF position from 5353612 shares at the end of 2025 to 3044612 shares as of March 31. According to its first-quarter SEC disclosure, the remaining IBIT positions are worth approximately $116.97 million. The document did not say why Harvard withdrew from its Ethereum position or reduced its shareholding in the Bitcoin ETF. Unlike Dartmouth College's quarterly report, Harvard documents show the endowment changed the number of shares it holds.

Harvard's endowment fund, valued at approximately $57 billion, had not disclosed its positions in the second quarter of 2026 as of Friday. Its next Form 13F will only show qualified U.S. listed securities held as of June 30 and will not disclose any transactions completed after the end of the quarter.