Brown University has significantly expanded its investment in Bitcoin, purchasing additional shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). The Ivy League school added about $6.5 million worth of the spot Bitcoin ETF, according to portfolio-tracking data, raising its total position to roughly $13 million.

The latest move increases Brown’s holdings to 212,500 IBIT shares, signaling growing confidence in cryptocurrency’s long-term potential. This bold step places the university among prominent institutional investors embracing Bitcoin exposure, reflecting a broader trend of digital assets gaining acceptance in traditional finance circles.

Filing

Harvard University has disclosed a $116 million stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as of June 30, 2025, according to a quarterly SEC filing released Friday. The investment, held by Harvard Management Company — which manages the university’s $50 billion endowment — marks one of the largest known bitcoin allocations by a U.S. university endowment.

The IBIT fund, launched in January 2024, is a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund that offers exposure to the cryptocurrency without requiring direct ownership. Harvard’s sizable position signals growing acceptance of bitcoin among major institutional investors, joining a trend that includes hedge funds, pension funds, and other large asset managers. The move reflects increasing comfort with regulated digital asset products that offer transparency and daily liquidity.

Spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. have seen their combined assets climb into the tens of billions, driven by both retail demand and institutional inflows. For large endowments, such ETFs provide a compliant, SEC-regulated pathway into the digital asset market while meeting governance and risk management requirements. Harvard’s move could influence other universities to follow suit.

Filing

“…we’re definitely going to be the crypto capital of the world for regulated ETF funds, [but] are we serious about making America the crypto capital of the world for peer-to-peer transactions and individual liberty? We should be.” -Peter Van Valkenburgh

After Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm was found guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and the Samourai Wallet developers accepted a plea deal, Peter Van Valkenburgh is concerned that the United States may not become the crypto capital of the world — at least as far as transactional privacy and peer-to-peer rights are concerned.

In my interview with Van Valkenburgh, we…

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The know-your-customer (KYC) threat isn’t coming. It’s already here, and it didn’t arrive through a nationwide ban or an emergency executive order. It quietly showed up with a checkbox and a Terms of Service agreement.

While the influencers make noise about CBDCs and paper bitcoin, the real control system has already been deployed: Know Your Customer.

Not dramatic. Not dystopian. Just regulated, normalized and accepted.

But compliance isn’t neutral. It’s the infrastructure of financial control, and if you’re still handing over your ID to stack sats, you’re not buying freedom. You’re financing your own cage.

The Real Attack Vector from KYC

KYC regulations…

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Bitcoin price maintained its position above $115,000 on Friday as Binance, the world’s largest Bitcoin and crypto exchange, partners with Spain’s BBVA bank to provide third-party custody services, marking a significant step toward institutional-grade security.

The partnership enables Binance customers to store their assets in U.S. Treasury securities held by BBVA, Spain’s third-largest bank, which the exchange will accept as margin for trading. This arrangement effectively separates trading activities from asset custody, providing an additional layer of security for investors concerned about exchange risk.

The move comes as Binance continues to rebuild trust following its…

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Binance has partnered with Spanish banking giant BBVA to provide independent custody for customer funds, according to the Financial Times. The arrangement allows Binance users to hold assets with BBVA, backed by US Treasurys, which the exchange then accepts as margin for trading. This move is designed to enhance investor protection and reduce counterparty risk, following high-profile industry collapses such as FTX and Binance’s own regulatory hurdles.

The deal marks a significant step toward merging traditional banking safeguards with the crypto ecosystem. Alongside BBVA, Binance has also secured custody partnerships with Switzerland’s Sygnum and FlowBank, but BBVA’s strong brand recognition is expected to inspire greater trust among investors. By involving established banks, Binance aims to restore confidence in centralized crypto platforms and attract more institutional participation.

In a separate update, Binance has launched a service enabling European Economic Area and UK users to convert crypto to fiat and withdraw directly to Mastercard with near-instant availability. This added convenience, combined with secure bank-backed custody, positions Binance as a more robust and user-friendly platform in the evolving digital asset market.

Financial Times

Bitcoin ETF inflows are accelerating the influence of institutional investors on the market, reshaping BTC’s supply dynamics and overall structure. As these ETFs have flooded into the space, many see this wave of institutional participation as an unprecedented shift in Bitcoin’s narrative. But what if this institutional data could be used not just to observe the market, but to outperform bitcoin itself?

Who Really Buys Bitcoin ETFs? Defining ‘Institutional’

The term “institutional” is frequently used as shorthand for ETF buyers, but in reality, these inflows represent a mix of high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and some actual institutional funds. Perhaps only…

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Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. delivered robust second-quarter results, sending its shares up 6% in after-hours trading on Thursday. The company reported $2.54 billion in gross profit for the quarter, marking a 14% year-on-year jump. In a letter to shareholders, Block raised its 2025 gross profit outlook to $10.17 billion, up from a previous estimate of $9.96 billion. Net income attributable to common stockholders surged to $538.46 million, compared to $195.27 million in the same period last year.

The fintech and digital payments firm, formerly known as Square, remains deeply invested in cryptocurrency operations. Block said it holds bitcoin both as a long-term asset and to support customer transactions. During the quarter, the company added 108 BTC, bringing total holdings to 8,692 BTC by the end of June.

A $212.17 million remeasurement loss on its bitcoin position was recorded in the quarter, reflecting a decline in market value, compared to a $70.12 million gain a year ago. Despite this, Block’s confidence in crypto appears firm, with its bitcoin strategy still central to its growth plans.

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