Italy’s biggest banking group, Intesa Sanpaolo, significantly reduced its investment in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) during the second quarter while substantially increasing its exposure to a staked Ethereum exchange traded fund, according to its latest Form 13F filing.
Bitcoin ETF Position Shrinks as Ethereum Allocation Grows
The filing shows that Intesa Sanpaolo held 40,723 IBIT shares as of June 30, a sharp decline of nearly 94 percent from the 646,809 shares reported at the end of the first quarter.
The bank also dramatically reduced its call options tied to the fund. The number of underlying shares linked to those contracts dropped from approximately 2.5 million to just 18,000, representing a decline of more than 99 percent.
At the same time, the filing disclosed a new put position equivalent to 500,000 IBIT shares. However, the reported positions do not necessarily indicate that the bank has adopted a bearish outlook on Bitcoin.
While reducing its Bitcoin related exposure, Intesa more than tripled its holdings in the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF, increasing its position from 116,200 shares to 349,600.
Its investment in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF moved in the opposite direction, falling from 2,817 shares to just seven.
Long Term Digital Asset Strategy Remains Intact
The latest portfolio changes come more than a year after Intesa Sanpaolo made its first direct Bitcoin purchase. In January 2025, the bank acquired 11 BTC for roughly $1.03 million.
Earlier, in July 2024, it used the Polygon blockchain to issue Italy’s first on chain digital bond valued at $25.6 million. Later that year, the bank expanded its digital asset offerings by introducing options, futures, and spot cryptocurrency exchange traded funds through a dedicated trading desk.
Institutional Investors Shift Toward Ethereum
Intesa’s portfolio adjustments mirror a broader trend among some BlackRock clients. According to recent reports, investors sold around $60 million worth of IBIT shares last week while purchasing more than $20 million of BlackRock’s ETHA spot Ethereum ETF.
Despite Intesa reducing its Bitcoin ETF holdings, the broader US spot Bitcoin ETF market has recently regained momentum. After recording approximately $4.5 billion in net outflows during June, the sector rebounded in July with $172.4 million in net inflows, helping support Bitcoin’s recovery toward the $64,000 level.
The positive trend has continued into August, with spot Bitcoin ETFs attracting another $170 million in fresh inflows. BlackRock’s IBIT remains the industry’s largest Bitcoin ETF, having accumulated nearly $61 billion in total inflows since its launch.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic
