The University of Austin has made a bold move into the world of digital assets by launching a dedicated $5 million bitcoin fund as part of its $200 million endowment.
The university partnered with Unchained, a bitcoin financial services company, to launch the fund, and is now the first U.S. university to allocate a portion of its endowment directly to bitcoin.
Chad Thevenot, Senior Vice President for Advancement at the university, explained, “We think there is long-term value there, just the same way that we might think there is long-term value in stocks or real estate.”
The university will hold its bitcoin for at least 5 years, treating it as a long-term asset. This follows the growing acceptance of bitcoin among institutional investors, particularly university endowments.
Emory University put $15 million into bitcoin through Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust, and Stanford University’s Blyth Fund put 7% of its portfolio into BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF after a proposal from its Blockchain Club.
Related: Stanford University’s Blyth Fund Invests in Bitcoin ETF
University endowments have been slow to get into bitcoin due to volatility and regulatory uncertainty. But bitcoin as an asset class has made some institutions rethink.
The Rockefeller Foundation, which manages $4.8 billion in assets, is reportedly considering expanding its bitcoin investments.
Chun Lai, the foundation’s chief investment officer, said, “We don’t have a crystal ball on how cryptocurrencies will evolve in ten years. But we don’t want to be left behind if their potential materializes dramatically.”
The University of Austin’s move comes as institutions are changing how they view bitcoin. As regulatory frameworks become clearer and universities explore digital assets, more are expected to follow.
A Bitget Research study found that younger generations are interested in digital-asset-based retirement savings. 20% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha respondents said they would take pensions in digital assets. 40% of them had already invested in them by January 2025.
Beyond universities, several U.S. states are looking at bitcoin as a reserve asset. Maryland is the 17th state to propose a bitcoin reserve fund, joining Texas, Ohio and New Hampshire. They’re looking at bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and an alternative to traditional reserves.
Bitcoin investments are all the rage but some experts are skeptical. Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University, said he believes bitcoin is still super speculative, and that it “has failed in its stated objectives.”
His article was published in July 2021, when bitcoin was trading at around $30,000 per coin.
“I have significant concerns about institutional investors getting into what is essentially a purely speculative financial asset,” he told the Financial Times.
Others argue Bitcoin’s volatility is a risk for endowments, which historically prioritize stable, long-term returns. Brian Neale, investment manager at the University of Nebraska Foundation, doesn’t currently see bitcoin as an “institutionally investable” asset class.
Regulatory uncertainty is another issue. The Biden administration has been cautious about digital assets, but Trump’s pro-Bitcoin rhetoric has boosted optimism about regulatory changes.
Many investors still think clearer guidance is needed from financial regulators like the SEC before bitcoin becomes a mainstream institutional asset.
