Bitcoin firm, Texas university partner for $5M endowment fund

Bitcoin financial services firm and UATX plan to raise $5 million to invest in BTC for the next five years.

Bitcoin financial services firm Unchained and the University of Austin have partnered to launch a long-term endowment fund holding Bitcoin (BTC).

On May 31, Austin, Texas-based crypto services and custody company Unchained unveiled a new partnership with the University of Austin (UATX).

The pair are launching the first long-term endowment fund held in Bitcoin with a goal of raising $5 million, which will remain invested in BTC for at least five years.

This initiative aims to integrate Bitcoin into higher education and explore alternative financial strategies.

“By incorporating bitcoin into its endowment, UATX is setting a precedent for other academic institutions to explore alternative and potentially more resilient financial models,” read the announcement.

Joseph Kelly, CEO of Unchained, kicked off the fund with a personal donation of 2 BTC, which is worth around $137,000 at current prices.

“The world needs more great founders, and we are excited to bring together our communities to build something new,” said Kelly in a post on X on May 31.

Unchained will also provide a collaborative custody vault to securely store the endowment fund.

The initiative plans to foster community engagement through joint marketing campaigns, events, guest lectures, and debates aimed at educating the public about the benefits of Bitcoin and its potential to revolutionize finance and education.

“This initiative reflects the core missions of both Unchained and UATX, emphasizing sound money principles, resistance to censorship, and challenging the status quo.”

Related: Stanford’s Blyth Fund allocates 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin

University endowments are comprised of money or other financial assets that are donated to academic institutions and act as self-sustaining sources of funding by intentionally not paying out the entire fund balance.

UATX is not the only American university investing in crypto. In March, Cointelegraph reported that Stanford University’s Blyth Fund had increased its portfolio exposure to 7% BTC via BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF.

Additionally, Ivy League Universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have dabbled in crypto investments as early as 2018.