Kole Lee, the leader of Stanford’s Blockchain Club, had pitched Blyth Fund to invest in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF in early February.
By Mayowa Adebajo
Edited by Julia Sakovich
Updated
3 mins read
A group of forward-thinking students have dared to challenge the status quo by merging Bitcoin, the digital darling of the financial world, with academia. This follows after the Blyth Fund decided to allocate about 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin.
The Blyth Fund is a student-run investment fund named after the legendary banker Charles Blyth. Since its establishment in 1978, the fund has been a stronghold of traditional investment strategies. Although it typically invests in stocks, bonds, and some other assets, this will be the first time it is diversifying into crypto.
For what it’s worth, the decision to embrace Bitcoin as an investment tool was not made lightly. It came after months of research, debate, and soul-searching. That is after Kole Lee, the leader of Stanford’s Blockchain Club, had pitched Blyth Fund to invest in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF in early February.
In an attempt to shed more light on the daring move that saw the student-run fund allocating such a significant portion of its portfolio to Bitcoin, particularly for Bitcoin critics, Lee announced that there are three things involved. They are ETF inflows, crypto market cycles, and a hedge against monetary chaos and war.
He shared his belief that the ETF presents the perfect opportunity for Blyth to buy Bitcoin. Lee also added that if Bitcoin eventually breaks the all-time high of $69,000, that will cover billions of shorts, and people will become more excited, making room for more explosion to the upside.
Meanwhile, it is also worth mentioning that asset manager BlackRock is currently seeking the face of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for BTC exposure. It recently filed an amendment with the regulator that will allow it to incorporate Bitcoin exposure in its Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (BSIIX).
Moreso, BlackRock’s recently launched spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) is the best-performing of the newly launched batch of nine funds. On March 4 alone, the fund saw an inflow of $420 million and has now surpassed $11 billion in assets under management. Interestingly, IBIT is the same fund that Lee pitched to the Blyth Fund in February, which has now caused the latest investment.
For many, Bitcoin remains a mysterious enigma – a digital curiosity that exists somewhere on the fringes of the financial system. But for the students of the Blyth Fund, it represents something more. It is an unparalleled opportunity to challenge convention, to embrace innovation, and to shape the future of finance.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Mayowa is a crypto enthusiast/writer whose conversational character is quite evident in his style of writing. He strongly believes in the potential of digital assets and takes every opportunity to reiterate this. He's a reader, a researcher, an astute speaker, and also a budding entrepreneur. Away from crypto however, Mayowa's fancied distractions include soccer or discussing world politics.
