Intesa Sanpaolo, one of Europe’s largest banks, has increased its assets linked to cryptocurrencies to over 200 million dollars as of the first quarter of 2026. According to official reports, the institution, which is headquartered in Italy and is an important player in the European banking industry, has taken a serious position in Bitcoin and related investment products.
Bitcoin focused investments and ETF positions
According to the most recent 13F reports submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA, the total number of Bitcoin-focused financial products and options held by Intesa Sanpaolo reached approximately $202 million in the first quarter of 2026. The bank achieved this specifically through regulated spot Bitcoin ETFs and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust options.
In its 13F report, the bank increased its stake in ARK Invest and 21Shares Bitcoin ETF to $81.17 million; This amount was 72.6 million dollars in the previous period. Similarly, BlackRock increased investment in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF to $24.85 million.
The bank also has smaller shares in products affiliated with Grayscale Investments and Bitwise Asset Management. At the end of March, total investment in direct spot Bitcoin ETFs and similar products reached $106.1 million.
The bank’s biggest return came from a large call option position tied to the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF; The value of this position was recorded as approximately $95.9 million.
Ethereum and XRP positions also grew
Intesa Sanpaolo has also ventured into crypto products other than Bitcoin. Transferring $3.15 million to BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF, the bank aims to return based on both the Ethereum price and staking income with this product.
Additionally, it invested $18.53 million in the XRP Trust ETF offered by Grayscale. Thus, instead of purchasing crypto assets directly, the bank included XRP and Ethereum in its portfolio through official and regulated investment instruments.
On the other hand, it also made smaller investments in companies operating in the field of digital assets, such as Circle Internet Group ($2.33 million), Coinbase ($1.83 million) and BitGo ($1.36 million).
The bank’s current investment in Solana-related products decreased. While the amount in Bitwise Solana Staking ETF was 4.36 million dollars at the end of 2025, this figure decreased to 31 thousand dollars as of March 31.
This change shows that Intesa Sanpaolo is following a strategy with a lower risk appetite, being more selective in crypto investments and prioritizing Bitcoin and large-scale assets.
Approach to crypto in the world of traditional finance
Large financial institutions have begun to prefer access to crypto assets through regulated exchange-traded funds and similar institutional products rather than direct entry into crypto markets. A similar example is notable with Mubadala holding over $565 million in assets in the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF.
Intesa Sanpaolo had tested direct crypto investment by purchasing over 1 million euros of Bitcoin in January 2025; During this period, he held approximately 11 Bitcoins. However, today the bank has moved away from this strategy and focused on regulated financial instruments.
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the bank’s total crypto-related asset volume exceeded $ 200 million, although this size remains modest compared to the bank’s net profit of 2.8 billion euros and customer assets under management of 1.4 trillion euros.
Latest documents reveal that major banks no longer see crypto investments as small-scale experiments, but are turning to this area with a more sustainable and corporate approach.
