According to Cointelegraph, Emory University has acquired Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) shares valued at over $15 million, as revealed in a regulatory filing dated October 25. This positions Emory as the first college endowment to report holding shares in a BTC ETF, noted Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, in an October 28 post on the X platform.
The filing indicates that Emory holds nearly 2.7 million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (GBTC), worth approximately $15.1 million at the time of the disclosure. Balchunas highlighted that this development means every type of institution is now represented in BTC ETF 13Fs, which are public disclosures that large US investment managers must file quarterly.
The introduction of Bitcoin ETFs in January has played a significant role in legitimizing BTC as an asset class, leading to widespread adoption among institutional investors. The State of Michigan Retirement System also reported investments in a spot Bitcoin ETF offered by ARK 21Shares, with the shares valued at around $6.6 million at the time of filing, a small fraction of the fund’s extensive assets.
Cryptocurrency funds have been prominent in the ETF market, accounting for 13 of the 25 largest ETF launches in 2024 by inflows through August, according to Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, in a post on the X platform. Bitcoin has been a dominant force in the ETF landscape this year, making up six of the top 10 most successful launches in 2024, Geraci added.
In addition to Bitcoin ETFs, several Ether (ETH) ETFs launched in July have attracted over $1 billion in net inflows to date. ETF issuers are now looking to register ETFs for other tokens, including Solana (SOL) and XRP. In July, securities exchange Cboe requested regulatory approval to list VanEck’s and 21Shares’ planned SOL ETFs. In October, ETF issuers Canary Capital and Bitwise both filed for proposed XRP ETFs.
