Dartmouth Endowment Crypto Holdings Shrink Amid Market Slide

Woofun AI reports that a $2 million contraction in digital asset exposure marked the recent performance of Dartmouth College's $9 billion endowment, highlighting the volatility facing Ivy League institutions entering the crypto market.

A Thursday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the trustees of Dartmouth College revealed that the endowment held $12.4 million in Bitwise Solana staking exchange-traded fund (ETF), Grayscale Ethereum staking ETF, and BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF as of June 30. This valuation represents a 15% decline from the $14.6 million reported on March 31, a loss sustained over three months despite maintaining identical share counts across the funds. Per Woofun AI, the portfolio's erosion was driven by underlying asset depreciation rather than active divestment.

The valuation drop mirrored broader market declines: Bitcoin (BTC) fell 7.7% to $62,915, Solana (SOL) dropped 9.6% to $75.11, and Ether (ETH) declined 10.8% to $1,875. While Dartmouth began adding crypto exposure to its portfolio in 2025, becoming one of the first US universities to invest in digital assets, Harvard took a divergent path. Harvard, which manages a $57 billion endowment, had not disclosed its second-quarter 2026 holdings as of Friday but had previously reported liquidating its entire $87 million position in BlackRock's iShares Ethereum as of March 31.

The divergence in strategy underscores the varying risk appetites among elite academic institutions. Dartmouth's continued holding amidst falling crypto prices tied to each ETF suggests a long-term conviction, whereas Harvard's exit signals caution. This marks a distinct split in institutional approaches to digital asset volatility.