Intesa Sanpaolo more than doubles crypto exposure to about 235 million in Q1 2026

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank, more than doubled its cryptocurrency exposure in the first quarter of 2026, bringing it to about 235 million as of March 31, up from roughly 100 million at year-end 2025. The increase reflects a continued shift by a major European lender toward regulated digital-asset products, with Bitcoin accounting for much of the growth and new positions extending into Ethereum and XRP.

The bank expanded its Bitcoin exposure through holdings in two exchange-traded funds: Ark 21Shares’ Bitcoin ETF and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. It also added Ethereum exposure for the first time via BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust. In addition, Intesa took on Ripple-linked exposure valued at about 26 million through the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF.

Intesa also reported its first move into crypto derivatives within its program. It opened a position in iShares Bitcoin Trust call options, marking an initial step into using derivatives rather than holding only spot-like ETF exposures. Previously, the bank indicated that its crypto holdings are held for proprietary trading purposes, while it has not disclosed whether any digital assets are used to hedge products...