Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank, significantly expanded its exposure to crypto assets in the first quarter of 2026, more than doubling its holdings to about $235 million as of March 31 from roughly $100 million at the end of 2025. The increase was driven primarily by Bitcoin allocations through the bank’s positions in the ARK 21Shares BTC ETF and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. For the first time, Intesa also added Ethereum exposure via BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust and acquired a new stake in Ripple’s XRP through the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, totaling around $26 million, according to a report by Criptovaluta.it.

The Italian lender also ventured into derivatives, opening a new position in iShares Bitcoin Trust call options—the bank’s initial foray into crypto derivatives. Intesa has previously confirmed that its crypto positions are held for proprietary trading purposes, though it has not disclosed whether these assets are used to hedge products offered to professional clients.

Source: Criptovaluta.it

In a related shift, Intesa pared back its Solana (SOL) exposure, which had been a notable feature of its prior quarter. The bank slashed its stake in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF from 266,320 shares to just 2,817, effectively a near-total exit from Solana-related exposure.

Intesa’s equity moves broaden crypto participation

On the equities side of its crypto book, Intesa adjusted several positions, signaling a broader tilt toward crypto-focused equities. It opened a new stake of 165,600 shares in BitGo, a fintech and custody provider active in the digital asset space, while disposing of its Bitmine position. The bank also exited its put options on Strategy and trimmed its stake in Cantor Equity Partners II, the vehicle through which tokenization firm Securitize is planning a listing. Coinbase shares rose from 1,500 to 10,357 in Intesa’s portfolio, underscoring a preference for exposure to well-known crypto infrastructure and exchange equities.

Intesa’s crypto moves align with a broader strategic push into digital assets that gained momentum after Ripple announced a custody partnership with the bank. Ripple said it would offer its custody services to Intesa, a development that could streamline the handling of institutional crypto assets for the Italian lender and potentially for its professional clients.

As of the latest trading session, Intesa Sanpaolo’s stock closed at €5.74 per share on Friday, down 1.56% for the day and roughly 3% lower for the year to date, according to Yahoo Finance data.

Europe’s banking sector accelerates crypto offerings

The broader European banking sector is increasingly embedding crypto services into mainstream retail and custody workflows. Spain’s BBVA has started offering 24/7 Bitcoin and Ether trading through its mobile app, expanding access for retail customers. In France, BPCE rolled out in-app crypto trading via its regulated subsidiary Hexatrq, aiming to reach around 12 million customers by 2026. These moves reflect a growing push to combine familiar banking channels with regulated crypto access, a trend that could shape adoption trajectories across the region.

On the infrastructure front, a consortium of 12 major European banks—including BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit and Deutsche Bank—formed Qivalis to issue a MiCA-compliant euro-backed stablecoin, targeting a launch in the second half of 2026. The initiative mirrors efforts in other parts of the continent to establish a more integrated, regulated euro-denominated digital asset settlement and payments rail, potentially reducing settlement times and increasing cross-border interoperability for institutional clients.

These developments sit within a larger regulatory backdrop that continues to define how banks manage crypto exposure. The MiCA framework has been a guiding force in Europe, encouraging banks to adopt stablecoins and other digital assets in a regulated context and setting clear governance, custody, and consumer protection standards. As European institutions test and deploy crypto services, observers will be watching how custody capabilities, risk management frameworks, and client disclosures evolve in practice.

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What the shifts mean for investors and traders

Intesa Sanpaolo’s Q1 2026 move signals more than a simple portfolio reallocation; it reflects a broader shift among traditional lenders toward regulated crypto access and digital-asset exposure that is increasingly anchored in blue-chip ETFs, established custody players, and regulated staking vehicles. For investors and traders, the development highlights several noteworthy angles:

Institutional appetite persists for regulated exposure: The combination of Bitcoin exposure via major ETFs, Ethereum staking through a regulated vehicle, and XRP via a trusted trust structure suggests a deliberate alignment with regulated, diversified crypto access rather than opportunistic, unregulated bets.
Derivatives enter the toolkit: Intesa’s foray into iShares Bitcoin Trust call options marks a step toward using crypto derivatives to improve risk management and potential alpha generation within a conservative institutional framework.
Shifts in alt-coin exposure: The near-complete exit from Solana indicates reprioritization toward what the bank perceives as higher-conviction or more liquid assets within the regulated product ecosystem.
Queue of European adoption signals: The broader push by banks like BBVA and BPCE, along with the Qivalis stablecoin initiative, points to a more cohesive and potentially scalable European pillars for crypto custody, settlement, and payments, which could influence liquidity and price discovery across the region.

Despite the optimism, questions remain about how banks will balance proprietary trading with client-facing offerings and how custody arrangements will evolve under evolving regulatory expectations. The presence of Ripple’s custody partnership with Intesa suggests a practical path for institutions seeking integrated, compliant digital-asset operations, but the extent to which these shifts translate into tangible on-ramp activity for end users will depend on regulatory clarity, product offerings, and consumer demand.

For readers watching the market, the next several quarters will be telling as European banks scale regulated crypto services, test new custody and settlement rails, and refine risk management for digital assets within traditional banking architectures. The momentum in 2026 points to a structurally evolving landscape where crypto exposure is becoming a standard feature of diversified, advisors-led portfolios rather than a fringe allocation.