The crypto fever is trespassing all kinds of borders and people are using blockchain-based solutions for numerous applications, including educational institutions. The latest reports indicate that the world-famous Yale University invested in a new $400 Million crypto-focused fund.

The Ivy League American University is presumed to be one of the primary investors that contributed to raising over $400 million for a macro project related to the cryptocurrency world, according to Bloomberg.

The ‘Paradigm’ Fund

Fred Ehrsam, who happens to be the co-founder of specialized site Coinbase, created the “Paradigm” fund. Among the collaborators are Charles Noyes, which also participated in the Pantera Capital crypto fund, and Matt Huang, an ex Sequoia Capital partner. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported, at an earlier date, that Huang abandoned Sequoia in June to focus on establishing the Paradigm fund with Ehrsam.

According to the anonymous source cited by Bloomberg, the amount of money that Yale contributed to the Paradigm project is not yet public. Yale’s $30 billion endowment is among the largest in the country.

An astounding 60 percent of Yale’s assets for the 2019’s fiscal year is reserved for “alternative investments.” Among those are hedge funds, leveraged buyouts, and venture capital, Bloomberg reports.

The Paradigm fund intends to invest on early stages of several crypto-oriented projects, as well as coin exchanges and innovative blockchain platforms, according to the Bloomberg article. Historically, Yale has not shied away from investments: it has contributed to everything from Puerto Rican bonds to timber in New Hampshire. Now, the University founded in 1701 is taking an interest in cryptocurrencies.

Yale and its Growing Relationship with Cryptocurrencies

Yale is also known for its academic contributions in several fields. For example, this year, a group of economists from the institution produced a “comprehensive” analysis of the “risk-return tradeoff” of Bitcoin (BTC) and top altcoins, such as Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP), using historical performance data.

David Swensen, who acts as Yale’s Chief Investments Officer, has also invested for the university in Andreessen Horowitz’s $300 million crypto fund. That one closed in June, and the sources, once again, preferred to provide information under anonymity.

Yale’s endowment, which is the second largest among American higher education institutions (trailing only Harvard’s) has grown towards the $30 billion marks from an initial fund of £562 donated by its founder Elihu Yale in 1718

Yale has recently earned a reputation for browsing and performing unconventional investments – although, at this point, nothing seems out of the ordinary when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies – with great success: the institution’s endowment has generated yearly returns of around 12.6 percent since the mid-’80s.

A Little Bit More About Yale

The Yale University is one of America’s most widely known private Ivy League research universities. It is located in the town of New Haven, Connecticut, and it has been functioning since 1701, is one of the older institutions of higher education in the US.

By Andrés Chávez

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here