Should You Follow Harvard into Bitcoin ETFs?

When Ivy League endowments like Harvard and Brown publicly invest in spot Bitcoin ETFs (such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust—IBIT), it’s enough to get clients and advisors asking: “If the smartest guys in the room are betting on bitcoin, should I do the same?” As Bitcoin ETFs go mainstream, their regulated structure and big-name adopters are offering new legitimacy to crypto as an asset class.

But as the article highlights—and as I shared with The Daily Upside—just because Harvard can afford to stomach bitcoin’s wild swings doesn’t mean the typical investor should be all in. “The average individual investor can’t invest with a truly infinite time horizon and is more exposed to urgent liquidity needs, emotional stress and the risk that riding out a 70% crypto correction isn’t just uncomfortable, but catastrophic to their plans,” I explained. For institutional “smart money” with multi-decade horizons and deep pockets, crypto is one more asset in a complex and highly diversified portfolio. For individuals, that kind of drawdown can be game-changing

While institutional adoption may boost confidence in the ETF wrapper—making it easier for investors to buy, sell, and report holdings—nothing about the product removes bitcoin’s trademark volatility or removes the behavioral risk of chasing headlines and FOMO. The data echo this: while retail appetite for crypto ETFs is strong, fewer than 1 in 5 advisors say they’d even recommend a toe-dip into crypto, and most keep exposure around the 5%-10% mark, as a “satellite” play—not portfolio core.

The bottom line: Institutional moves don’t turn speculation into stability. For individual investors, the safest path remains a disciplined, limited allocation (if any at all), with honest conversations around risk, liquidity, and emotional resilience. As I tell clients, crypto isn’t inherently “bad”—but it demands respect. Smart investing is about fitting products to your time horizon, your cash needs, and your goals, not just mirroring what the Ivy League is doing.