Unchained and the University of Austin (UATX) have announced their collaboration to hold Bitcoin in the University’s long-term endowment. 

In a groundbreaking partnership, Unchained and the University of Austin @uaustinorg are launching the first long-term endowment fund held in #bitcoin. https://t.co/6KZO7YiBBo

— Unchained (@unchainedcom) May 30, 2024

“I’ve been very passionate about what UATX is building in Austin,” said Joseph Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Unchained, who has personally donated 2 BTC to kickstart this campaign. “I’ve seen the values the organization places on free speech and on building a modern academic institution that’s integrated with the marketplace, and I’m thrilled to play a role in helping the university make bitcoin a part of its long term strategy.”

The initiative aims to raise $5 million in Bitcoin for the University’s endowment, with the University committed to holding the BTC for at least five years. The endowment funds are to be held securely and managed by Unchained, a prominent Bitcoin financial services provider specializing in multisig Bitcoin vaults.

The partnership also seeks to merge UATX with the broader Bitcoin community by collaborating on planned efforts such as joint marketing campaigns, events, guest lectures, and hosted debates.

“University endowments are about serving students, and bitcoin provides a unique opportunity for advancing UATX’s commitment to cultivating future generations of leaders and innovators,” said Thomas Hogan, incoming Associate Professor, Center for Economics, Politics, and History.

Founded in 2016, Unchained currently manages over $6 billion in Bitcoin, helping thousands of individuals and businesses hold their own Bitcoin keys through its collaborative custody model. The University of Austin is a private, nonprofit institution dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth, according to the release.

“Both UATX and the bitcoin community are building institutions for the future at a time when their respective worlds of higher education and financial services are captured by entrenched powers which limit freedoms through censorship,” Kelly added. “By choosing Unchained as a partner, the university is also signaling its assessment of bitcoin’s function as a freedom preserving technology, with our custody model helping to ensure there is no single point of failure to UATX’s long-term holdings.”