Intesa Sanpaolo doubles crypto holdings to $235M

Intesa Sanpaolo more than doubled its cryptocurrency exposure during the first quarter of 2026, increasing holdings from around $100 million at the end of 2025 to approximately $235 million by March 31, according to a report from Criptovaluta.it.

The expansion was driven primarily by larger positions in bitcoin investment products including ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF holdings and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, while the bank also entered ethereum and XRP investment products for the first time.

The Italian lender reportedly added exposure to Ethereum through BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust and acquired approximately $26 million worth of XRP exposure through the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF.

Intesa also opened its first crypto derivatives position through iShares Bitcoin Trust call options, while confirming previously that the digital asset positions are held for proprietary trading purposes.

The bank sharply reduced its exposure to Solana by cutting holdings in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF from 266,320 shares to just 2,817 shares during the quarter.

On the equities side, Intesa initiated a new position in BitGo, exited its Bitmine investment, increased holdings in Coinbase and reduced exposure to Cantor Equity Partners II, which is linked to tokenisation firm Securitize.

The portfolio changes come as European banks increasingly expand digital asset operations, with banks including BBVA, BPCE and KBC already rolling out crypto trading services for retail clients across the region.

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $76,962.31.