[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Harvard Management Company (HMC), which manages Harvard University's endowment, sold its entire ethereum (ETH) investment in the first quarter of this year. Its bitcoin (BTC) allocation was also reduced, but it kept its core holdings, prompting analysis that institutional investors are becoming more selective in crypto assets.

On May 21, Cointelegraph, a blockchain-focused outlet, reported that Harvard's endowment sold its entire stake worth about $87 million in BlackRock's spot ether ETF, the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), according to its first-quarter 2026 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The sale is drawing attention because the endowment exited the ETF after holding it for just one quarter. Harvard Management Company first disclosed its investment in an ethereum ETF in the fourth quarter of last year.

Bitcoin exposure was also trimmed over the same period. Harvard's endowment sold about 2.3 million shares of spot bitcoin ETFs in the first quarter but continued to hold more than 3 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). The filing values the stake at about $117 million.

Market participants are citing ether's weakness and uncertainty in its ecosystem as factors behind the decision. Ether is down more than 50 percent from its peak of about $5,000 recorded in August 2025. As the price correction drags on, internal restructuring at the Ethereum Foundation and departures of key personnel are continuing.

This year, Ethereum Foundation (EF) researchers Julian Ma and Carl Beek left the organisation, and a total of 8 key personnel have departed so far in 2026, based on what has been disclosed, it has been reported. Josh Stark, who had worked at the foundation for a long time, also resigned in April. The industry has also produced analysis that these moves coincide with an organisational and leadership reshuffle that has continued since last year.

In operating principles announced in March, the Ethereum Foundation set decentralisation, privacy, open source and censorship resistance as core values. The market, however, has also raised criticism that while this direction is positive in terms of ecosystem philosophy, it lacks balance with strategies to expand market share as competition intensifies.

Crypto journalist Laura Shin said, "The Ethereum Foundation's value orientation itself is meaningful," but added that "more attention is needed for tokenomics and defending the native asset price." She also said, "Competing projects are moving aggressively to secure market share, but the Ethereum Foundation can be seen as complacent with its results."

This difference in tone is also showing up in institutional fund flows. Harvard's endowment cleared all of its ether exposure while maintaining its bitcoin exposure. The market is interpreting this as a signal that large institutional investors are beginning to draw clearer distinctions in preference even within the crypto market.

The industry's focus is on how the Ethereum Foundation's organisational stabilisation, changes in ecosystem strategy and whether ether's price recovers will affect the flow of institutional inflows.