Italy’s Biggest Bank Cuts IBIT Exposure by 94% While Buying More Staked Ethereum

Italy’s largest banking group, Intesa Sanpaolo, sharply reduced its reported exposure to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the second quarter.

While its BTC-related position changed, the bank more than tripled its holdings in staked ETH.

IBIT Holdings Plunges

According to its latest Form 13F, Intesa Sanpaolo held 40,723 IBIT shares as of June 30, which was down 93.7% from the 646,809 reported for March 31. The filing also revealed a major change in its reported call position in the fund. The underlying-share amount linked to its held-call row fell from 2,496,500 shares to 18,000, over a 99% decline.

Meanwhile, a new put position equivalent to 500,000 IBIT shares appeared in the June 30 disclosure. The reported figures, however, do not show that the bank adopted a net bearish strategy on Bitcoin.

Its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF holding rose from 116,200 shares to 349,600. On the other hand, its position in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF dropped from 2,817 to just seven.

The latest filing comes more than a year after Intesa Sanpaolo made its first direct Bitcoin purchase in January 2025. It bought 11 BTC for about $1.03 million. Back in July 2024, it also used the Polygon network to underwrite Italy’s first on-chain digital bond, worth $25.6 million. Later that year, it began offering options, futures and spot ETFs linked to digital assets through a dedicated desk.

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