Italy’s largest bank doubles crypto holdings to $235M in Q1

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank, more than doubled its crypto exposure in the first quarter of 2026, climbing to about $235 million as of March 31, up from roughly $100 million at year-end 2025. The jump marks a significant step in the Italian lender’s ongoing foray into regulated digital assets, reflecting a broader European trend among traditional banks expanding their crypto footprints.

The uptick was driven primarily by Bitcoin positions. Intesa increased its holdings via both the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. The bank also entered Ethereum exposure for the first time through BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, and added a stake in Ripple’s XRP through the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, valued at about $26 million, according to Criptovaluta.it.

In a first for the bank’s crypto program, Intesa opened a position in iShares Bitcoin Trust call options, marking its initial foray into crypto derivatives. Previously, the bank confirmed to Criptovaluta.it that its crypto holdings are held for proprietary trading purposes, though it has not disclosed whether any assets are used to hedge products offered to professional clients.

Meanwhile, not all positions followed the same trajectory. Solana exposure, which had been a notable feature of the prior quarter, was pared back sharply, with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF stake collapsing from 266,320 shares to just 2,817—a near-total exit that underscores a cautious recalibration of non-Bitcoin bets.

Source: Criptovaluta.it

The reshaping of Intesa’s crypto holdings extended into the equities portion of its portfolio. The bank added 165,600 shares of BitGo for the first time, while exiting its Bitmine position. It also closed out put options on the Strategy vehicle and trimmed its stake in Cantor Equity Partners II, the vehicle linked to tokenization firm Securitize’s planned listing. Coinbase shares also moved higher, rising from 1,500 to 10,357.

The timing of these moves aligns with recent corporate developments in the crypto space. Notably, Ripple announced it would offer custody services to the Italian banking group, signaling deeper institutional alignment as banks seek regulated custody for digital assets.

Ripple custody discussions reflect growing institutional demand for trusted asset safekeeping as more banks explore regulated crypto service models.

Intesa Sanpaolo’s share price closed at €5.74 on a Friday session, down 1.56% for the day and about 3.1% lower year-to-date, according to Yahoo Finance data cited in the coverage. The bank’s evolving holdings illustrate how major European lenders are balancing risk, regulatory considerations, and strategic bets on a long horizon for digital assets.

Key takeaways

• Intesa Sanpaolo’s crypto exposure rose to roughly $235 million as of March 31, 2026, up from ~$100 million at year-end 2025, driven mainly by Bitcoin positions and new Ethereum exposure.
• The bank expanded Bitcoin via two regulated ETFs (ARK 21Shares BTC ETF and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust) and entered Ethereum exposure through iShares Staked Ethereum Trust; it also added Ripple XRP exposure (~$26 million) via the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF.
• Intesa opened its first crypto derivatives position by buying iShares Bitcoin Trust call options, highlighting a shift toward sophisticated risk/return tools within its proprietary trading framework.
• Solana bets were dramatically reduced, with the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF position nearly wiped out, signaling a reweighting away from non-Bitcoin ecosystem plays.
• Equities holdings moved in tandem with ecosystem developments: BitGo added, Bitmine dumped, Coinbase shares increased, and Ripple custody ties emerged as a strategic inflection point for the bank’s digital asset program.

European banks expand crypto offerings and infrastructure

Intesa’s activity sits within a broader wave of European banks extending their crypto services to retail and institutional clients. Spain’s BBVA now offers 24/7 Bitcoin and Ether trading through its mobile app, while France’s BPCE has rolled out in-app crypto trading via its regulated subsidiary Hexarq, targeting millions of customers by 2026. Belgium’s KBC is also among institutions delivering crypto access to everyday users, signaling a broader consumer-facing shift in the region.

Beyond client services, a consortium of twelve major European banks—including BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit and Deutsche Bank—formed Qivalis to issue a MiCA-compliant euro-backed stablecoin, aiming for a launch in the second half of 2026. The initiative underscores a collective push to establish regulated, cross-border digital currency rails in Europe, with MiCA-era governance in mind and a focus on interoperability across banking infrastructures.

The cross-border push comes as policymakers in Europe map out a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, a backdrop that lends credibility to banks’ willingness to deploy crypto services at scale. As institutions build out custody, trading, and settlement capabilities, the market is watching how these products perform in real-world use cases, including stablecoin settlement and tokenized asset workflows across traditional finance channels.

In related coverage, European crypto hubs and the evolving regulatory environment continue to be a focal point for institutional-grade adoption, with editorials and market commentary highlighting both opportunities and tensions as banks experiment with regulated digital asset offerings. For a broader discussion of how Europe’s treasury models are adapting to digital assets, see the ongoing discourse in regional coverage such as PBW’s 2026 outlook.

Source-linked reporting on Intesa and the European rollout of crypto services helps illustrate how a single bank’s strategy can mirror a wider continental pattern: institutions are recalibrating exposure, expanding custody capabilities, and pursuing regulated rails that could underpin broader adoption in the years ahead.

For readers seeking the underlying data, Criptovaluta.it summarized Intesa’s quarterly moves and the broader European expansion, while Ripple’s custody announcement underscores one of the pivotal partnerships shaping institutional engagement with digital assets in Europe.

As these developments unfold, investors and users should watch how MiCA-compliant stablecoins gain traction, how custody arrangements evolve, and whether more banks disclose detailed, auditable usage of crypto within their balance sheets and product offerings. The coming quarters will reveal whether these early forays translate into sustained capital allocation and real-world custody utilization across Europe’s banking sector.