Intesa Sanpaolo pivots crypto strategy with major IBIT, ETHB adjustments

According to the bank's latest Form 13F filing, common shares of IBIT dropped to 40,723 units by June 30, down from 646,809 at the end of March. The bank also reported a new put position tied to 500,000 IBIT shares, valued at approximately $16.65 million. Despite the reduction in IBIT, Intesa maintained a substantial presence in Bitcoin-linked products, holding 3.47 million shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), worth $67.63 million. This suggests the bank is refining its product preferences rather than retreating from Bitcoin altogether.

The shift toward Ethereum was more pronounced, with the bank’s ETHB holdings jumping from 116,200 to 349,600 shares, bringing the total value of that position to $7.10 million. Conversely, Intesa nearly liquidated its interest in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, reducing its holdings from 2,817 shares to a negligible seven. While the 13F filing provides a snapshot of investment discretion, it does not distinguish between the bank's proprietary treasury assets and those held on behalf of clients. Furthermore, because these filings exclude certain derivative instruments and lag by up to 45 days, the reported data serves as a partial indicator of the bank's broader digital asset strategy rather than a definitive account of its total market exposure.