Unchained, a Bitcoin financial services company based in Austin, Texas, has teamed up with the University of Texas at Austin (UATX) to launch a groundbreaking long-term annuity fund. According to Unchained’s announcement, the initiative aims to raise $5 million, which will be invested in Bitcoin for at least five years.
As the first-ever Bitcoin-based long-term endowment fund, the collaboration between Unchained and UATX aims to integrate the cryptocurrency into higher education and explore alternative financial strategies.
“By integrating bitcoin into its fund, UATX is setting a precedent for other academic institutions to explore alternative and potentially more resilient financial models.” – the statement reads.
Unchained CEO donates 2 BTC
To get the fund off the ground, Joseph Kelly , Unchained’s CEO, made a personal donation of 2 BTC, the equivalent of about $137,000 at current prices.
“The world needs more great founders, and we are excited about the opportunity to bring our communities together to build something new,” Kelly said in a May 31 post on X.
Unchained will also provide a secure shared trust vault to hold the capital fund, ensuring the safety and integrity of Bitcoin assets. In addition to financial contributions, the partnership aims to foster community engagement through various means.
Joint marketing campaigns, events, guest lectures and debates will be organized to educate the public about the benefits of Bitcoin and its potential to revolutionize finance and education.
The initiative is in line with the core mission of both Unchained and UATX, emphasizing principles such as sound money management, resistance to censorship and challenging the status quo. While UATX pioneered the Bitcoin fund, it is not the first American university to venture into the world of cryptocurrencies.
Stanford University’s Blyth Fund increased its exposure to Bitcoin in March, allocating 7% of its portfolio to the digital asset through BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF.
Ivy League institutions such as Harvard, Yale and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have also been exploring cryptocurrency investments as early as 2018, signaling growing interest in the potential of digital assets at renowned academic institutions.
Major hedge funds use ETFs on bitcoin
Of the 25 largest hedge funds in the United States, 13 entered the market by investing in bitcoin ETFs in the first quarter.
First, Point72, a renowned hedge fund with $34 billion in assets under management , disclosed its investment in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). At the end of the first quarter, Point72 held $77.5 million worth of FBTC.
Prominent hedge funds, including Elliott Capital led by Paul Singer and Millennium Management owned by Izzy Englander, have publicly shared their investments in these new funds.
Millennium Management is the largest institutional holder of the funds, with about $2 billion invested as of March 31. Other notable names among the investors include Fortress Investment Group and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors.
While hedge fund purchases of ETFs can be seen as a long-term bet on a potential rise in Bitcoin’s price, it is important to remember that these instruments can also serve other purposes.
