Strategic Expansion into Staked Ethereum
Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest banking group, has reshaped its digital asset portfolio during the second quarter, slashing its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) position while tripling its holdings in a yield-generating ethereum product.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Intesa reduced its stake in Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by roughly 94%, dropping from 646,809 shares to 40,723 shares. The remaining position was valued at $1.36 million as of June 30. It also eliminated 99% of its IBIT call options and acquired a new put position covering 500,000 shares—a contract that gains value if the ETF’s price declines further.
Despite the reduction in IBIT, the move stops short of a complete exit from Bitcoin. Intesa maintained a 3.47 million-share stake in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), worth $67.6 million at quarter-end. That holding, down just 4% from the prior quarter, remains the single largest crypto-linked exposure in the bank’s filing. Intesa also left its Grayscale XRP Trust position unchanged at 712,319 shares.
On the other hand, it tripled its holdings in Blackrock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF, growing its position from 116,200 shares ($3.15 million) at the end of March to 349,600 shares ($7.1 million) by June 30.
The staked ethereum fund holds ether while passing through annual network staking rewards of approximately 3% to 4%. Because ether fell 25% over the second quarter, Intesa’s additions reflect a strategy of buying into market weakness to capture recurring yields unavailable in traditional spot bitcoin funds.
The rotation mirrors a broader institutional push toward yield-bearing crypto products. Investment banking peer Morgan Stanley recently introduced staked ethereum exchange-traded products for institutional clients, indicating growing appetite for dividend-like returns in the digital asset space.
The portfolio adjustments occurred against a challenging market backdrop. Bitcoin fell 14% in the second quarter, marking its third consecutive quarter of losses, while aggregate net outflows from spot bitcoin ETFs reached nearly $4.89 billion. The iShares Bitcoin Trust alone accounted for $2.95 billion of those net withdrawals, while spot ethereum products registered over $715 million in outflows.
Intesa’s Q2 filing also detailed changes in its exposure to crypto infrastructure companies. The bank nearly doubled its holding in Bitgo Holdings to 323,000 shares, while scaling back equity positions in Coinbase (down 32%), Circle (down 10%), and Robinhood (down 43%).
Separately, the bank established a massive non-crypto position by acquiring 5.66 million shares in commercial space venture SpaceX valued at $966.42 million. The stake provides indirect exposure to crypto, as SpaceX holds 18,712 bitcoins on its corporate balance sheet.
Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina previously characterized the bank’s initial direct purchase of 11 bitcoins for roughly 1 million euros in January 2025 as an experimental trial. The latest disclosures indicate the trial has morphed into active, hedged portfolio management willing to rebalance between products as conditions shift.
Institutional investors managing more than $100 million in U.S.-listed equities have until Aug. 14 to complete their second-quarter Form 13F filings, which will clarify whether other financial giants followed similar ETF rotation strategies.
