Italy's Largest Bank Intesa Sanpaolo Doubles Crypto Holdings to $235 Million
Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, will increase its crypto asset holdings from approximately $100 million at the end of 2025 to about $235 million in the first quarter of 2026. The bank primarily uses these assets for proprietary trading.
Intesa significantly increased its holdings in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and BlackRock IBIT, and for the first time allocated Ethereum assets through the BlackRock iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, adding approximately $26 million in Grayscale XRP Trust ETF holdings. It also established a bullish options position in IBIT, added 165,600 shares of BitGo stock, and liquidated its Bitmine position.
The allocation to Solana was significantly reduced, with holdings in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF dropping from 266,300 shares to 2,817 shares. Last month, Ripple announced it would provide digital asset custody services for Intesa.
Source: Public Information
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Intesa Sanpaolo, as a major player in the European traditional banking sector, has gradually shifted from observing the crypto market to making substantial allocations over the past two years. This significant increase in Q1 for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP products continues its strategy of cautious exploration followed by accelerated deployment between 2024 and 2025, having previously participated cautiously in blockchain clearing and custody pilots.
In terms of capital strategy, Intesa is reallocating proprietary funds from traditional bonds and equities to Bitcoin ETFs, ETH staking, and XRP trusts, while building an infrastructure loop through BitGo stock and Ripple's custody services. The motivation is to capture early institutional crypto adoption benefits and diversify interest rate risks, while also preparing capabilities for future wealth management and trading operations.
Similar to how European banks like Société Générale and BNP Paribas are entering crypto through ETFs and custody services in 2024-2025, and how U.S. banks have early positions in Bitcoin ETFs, Intesa is currently in a transitional phase of European banking from "regulatory observation" to "active allocation + service provision."
Essentially, this represents capital concentration: traditional banks are facing margin compression in a low-interest-rate environment, and by allocating proprietary resources to crypto assets and custody services, they are shifting resources towards the high-growth digital asset sector. Mechanically, this allows Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others to become new anchors on bank balance sheets, shifting pricing power from purely traditional financial products to crypto infrastructure and custody chains.
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The increase in crypto holdings by established European banks is not about chasing trends, but about restructuring balance sheets. Liquidating Solana in favor of Bitcoin and ETH shows traditional institutions voting with their feet for mainstream assets. Custody services can secure long-term capital flows better than direct holdings.