Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Duke University’s Early Investment in Coinbase Is Now Likely Worth $500M

Duke University’s Early Investment in Coinbase Is Now Likely Worth $500M

Duke’s direct exposure to Coinbase in one of its early investment rounds has probably increased 100x, two people familiar with the matter said.

The endowment fund of Duke University, the alma mater of Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, was one of the fortunate few to have made an early investment in the soon-to-list cryptocurrency exchange, CoinDesk has learned.

Two people familiar with the matter said the $3.9 billion Duke Endowment was included early on in the cap table of Coinbase, which is expected to command a price tag of around $100 billion when its shares debut on Nasdaq. Those shares are now worth a small fortune, on the order of nine figures, the sources said.

“The Duke University endowment has direct Coinbase exposure because Fred [Ehrsam] approached Duke for one of the early rounds,” said a source who was part of the venture capital community at that time. “They probably 100x’d their money, after dilution. So even if they only put in $5 million, they just made $500 million, which is a lot for an endowment.”

Coinbase declined to comment. Duke Endowment did not immediately return requests for comment.

The VC veteran said it was most likely the 2015 Series C round in which Duke participated. CoinDesk was unable to confirm the exact size of the investment.

University endowments have long been seen as a leading indicator of the institutional stampede into crypto investing. While the Duke investment was at a remove from the assets themselves, the bet on what has become a key piece of market infrastructure appears to have paid off handsomely.

In 2015, Coinbase raised $75 million as part of a Series C funding round backed by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), USAA, Spanish bank BBVA and Japanese telco DoCoMo. The exchange’s 2017 Series D round raised $100 million from Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), Battery Ventures, Draper Associates, Greylock Partners, Section 32 and Spark Capital.

“By virtue of having been successful in crypto, these early investors are now believers,” the VC source, who was not authorized to speak about the investment on the record, told CoinDesk. “It’s like, ‘Hey, this thing actually worked.’ And so I suspect a lot of that money gets recycled back into crypto.”

Indeed, Duke’s approach may even be on the cautious side. In January, CoinDesk reported Ivy League colleges including Harvard and Yale had been buying cryptocurrency directly from Coinbase over the past year, prior to the current bull run.Read more: Harvard, Yale, Brown Endowments Have Been Buying Bitcoin for at Least a Year: Sources

In the case of North Carolina-based Duke, crypto and blockchain have been in the blood of the college for quite some time. Indeed, Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, teaches a course that now covers decentralized finance (DeFi).

Professor Harvey said Ersham was a recent speaker in his course; the star alumnus first came in and talked about Coinbase the first year Harvey ran the course back in 2014.

Harvey said he could not talk about the Duke endowment specifically, but said he has been a longtime advocate of investing in early-stage startups for university endowments.

“University endowments often have a very long time horizon, so it’s not unusual to have a greater than average exposure to early stage ventures,” said Harvey. “They are looking for that 100x.”

Source: Fintechs.fi

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×