Stanford’s Blyth Fund Invests 7% Portfolio in Bitcoin

Stanford University’s student-run Blyth Fund has made a major investment in Bitcoin, allocating almost 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin. Kole Lee, a Computer Science Major and a prominent figure in the Stanford Blockchain Club announced the decision on March 5. This followed his compelling pitch to the fund in February.

Stanford Endowment has bought Bitcoin at 45k.

In February, pitched IBIT to Blyth Fund, the student-run fund which manages a portion of Stanford's Endowment.

Bitcoin is now ~7% of the portfolio.

Here's the pitch that convinced them to buy: pic.twitter.com/nE7PuNF7Nw

— Kole Lee (@kolelee_) March 4, 2024

Lee, who leads the Stanford Blockchain Club, shared that the University’s endowment purchased Bitcoin at $45,000. He added that he pitched BlackRock’s IBIT exchange-traded fund (ETF) to the Blyth Fund. Theirs is a presentation concerning flows into ETFs and cycles of the cryptocurrency market, but it particularly emphasized the use of Bitcoin as a hedge against “monetary chaos and war.”

The speaker is trying to be bullish but at the same time respects where his skeptic audience may sit and tries to strike a balance. The student-run fund, founded in 1978 in honor of famed banker Charles Blyth, administers a six-figure piece of Stanford’s Endowment. It invests in equities, bonds, and other assets, including Bitcoin.

On that note, Lee said, “The Blyth Fund is a student-run investment club that looks to legitimize and empower our members to invest within sectors that their passion and skill sets align with.” He stated his excitement to have the ETF exposure, saying, “I thought that’s a wonderful piece for Blyth to get some exposure to Bitcoin.”

Moreover, Lee speculates on Bitcoin’s future, suggesting that surpassing its all-time high of $69,000 could trigger a significant market movement. “This kind of anticipation underscores the disruptive psychological impact of reaching such a milestone on the dynamics of cryptocurrency,” he said. When breached, this level may trigger a billion shorts covering, sparking excitement with a sharp, volatile upward market movement.

BlackRock Seeks Bitcoin Exposure in High-Stakes Move

Global asset manager BlackRock updated an amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4. The filing aims to incorporate Bitcoin exposure into its Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (BSIIX). It said that it may purchase shares in funds that have direct exposure to the price of BTC.

According to BlackRock, the fixed-income SIO fund currently has $36.5 billion in assets under management. Furthermore, the moves show an urge by BlackRock to increase exposure to Bitcoin. The acknowledgment seen in its high-yielding fund by the firm appears supportive of cryptocurrency.

BlackRock’s recently launched spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, has demonstrated strong performance among the latest batch of newly introduced funds. According to the most recent update, it had crossed assets worth $11 billion under management since inception 25 days ago. It has recorded an inflow of $420 million on March 4. So, more institutional interest and investment in cryptocurrency are in the making.

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