Emory University reports holding $15 million worth of shares in Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust: filing

Quick Take

  • Emory University reporting holding nearly 2.7 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust valued at around $15.1 million as of Sept. 30.
  • The University also reported holding 4,312 shares in the crypto exchange Coinbase, with the dollar amount rising to $768,269.

The Atlanta-based private research institution Emory University reported holding nearly 2.7 million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust valued at around $15.1 million, according to an Oct. 25 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

Though pension funds in Wisconsin and Jersey City have reported holding crypto-based exchange-traded products (ETFs), Emory may be one of the few institutions of higher education to report owning such assets.

Approved in July, the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (ticker BTC) serves as an off-shoot of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the firm's spot bitcoin ETF. BTC provides passive exposure to the price of bitcoin, and the trust's value aims to reflect the price movement of bitcoin. As a spin-off from GBTC, BTC offers exposure to the price of bitcoin at a lower share price, "allowing investors to achieve more precise Bitcoin exposure," according to the fund's website.

Emory also reported holding 4,312 shares, valued at $768,269, in the crypto exchange giant Coinbase, the filing shows. Coinbase (ticker COIN) stock was valued at $205.70 as of 5:28 p.m. ET (21:28 UTC) on Friday, according to data from the stock exchange NASDAQ. The filing shows Emory's investments as of Sept. 30. Coinbase also serves as the custodian for Grayscale's bitcoin holdings. 

Media representatives of Emory University did not immediately respond to The Block's request for comment outside of normal business hours. 


Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.

Editor

To contact the editor of this story:
Zack Abrams at
[email protected]