Italy's largest bank tripled its staked ETH ETF position to $7.1M in Q2 while slashing IBIT by 94% as BTC fell 14% and US spot crypto ETF outflows hit $4.89B.
Institutional Crypto Investment News
Intesa Sanpaolo filed its latest SEC disclosure on Aug. 4, revealing sweeping changes to its crypto-linked portfolio during the second quarter of 2026.
The Italian bank's moves showed a clear pivot away from Bitcoin ETF exposure and toward staked Ethereum products, even as both assets fell sharply in price over the same three months.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 14% over the quarter, its third consecutive quarter of losses after declines exceeding 20% in each of the prior two periods. Ethereum (ETH) fell 25% over the same window. The price environment weighed heavily on US spot crypto ETFs broadly. Net outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs reached approximately $4.89 billion in the three months through June, according to SoSoValue data. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF alone shed $2.95 billion. Spot Ether ETFs recorded more than $715 million in outflows during the same period.
Sharp Cuts to Bitcoin Exposure
Intesa reduced its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) position from 646,809 shares to 40,723, a reduction of roughly 94%, leaving the stake worth $1.36 million as of June 30. The bank did not stop at selling shares. It also eliminated 99% of its IBIT call options, which had given it the right to buy additional shares at a fixed price. In their place, the bank added put options covering 500,000 IBIT shares, giving it the right to sell those shares at a predetermined price. The combined moves represent a substantial reduction in bullish Bitcoin exposure and the addition of a position that would benefit if IBIT's price continues to fall.
The bank's decision to cut IBIT was not matched across all of its Bitcoin-linked holdings. It retained 3.47 million shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), worth $67.6 million, making it the largest crypto-linked position in the filing. That holding was down about 4% from the prior quarter, a much smaller reduction than the IBIT cut. The bank kept its Grayscale XRP Trust ETF (GXRP) position unchanged at 712,319 shares, suggesting a selective rather than wholesale retreat from crypto-linked ETF exposure.
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Even as it reduced IBIT, Intesa moved in the opposite direction on Ethereum. The bank tripled its position in BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), growing its stake from 116,200 shares worth $3.15 million at the end of March to 349,600 shares worth $7.1 million by June 30. The move came despite ETH's 25% price decline over the quarter, suggesting the bank was adding to the position at lower prices rather than riding an uptrend.
Crypto Equities and a Dominant New Position
Among crypto-linked equities, Intesa's changes were also significant. The bank nearly doubled its stake in BitGo Holdings (BTGO) to 323,000 shares. It cut its Coinbase Global (COIN) position by 32%, trimmed its Circle Internet (CRCL) holding by 10%, and reduced its Robinhood Markets (HOOD) stake by 43%. Those cuts suggest the bank was pulling back from the broader crypto infrastructure equity trade even while selectively adding on the ETF side.
The filing's single largest disclosed position had nothing to do with decentralized finance or crypto ETFs. Intesa reported a new 5.66 million-share stake in SpaceX (SPCX) valued at $966.42 million, the biggest individual holding in the entire document. SpaceX went public on June 12 and holds 18,712 BTC worth approximately $1.18 billion on its balance sheet, giving the position indirect Bitcoin exposure. The bank simultaneously cut its Tesla (TSLA) position by 92%, a move that reduced its exposure to another company that has held Bitcoin on its balance sheet.
Intesa made its first direct Bitcoin purchase in January 2025, acquiring 11 BTC for approximately 1 million euros ($1.2 million). CEO Carlo Messina described that purchase at the time as an experiment. The bank's Q2 2026 filing shows it has significantly expanded beyond that initial experiment, building a diversified crypto-linked book that spans ETFs, staked assets, options, and crypto-adjacent equities, while actively reshaping that exposure in response to market conditions.
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