Italian Banking Giant Intesa Sanpaolo Boosts Exposure to Bitcoin ETFs - Crypto Economy

CryptoEconomy · 2026-02-17T23:09:13+00:00

Intesa Sanpaolo significantly increased its investment in digital assets, notably Bitcoin, with about $96 million in ETFs. This marks a shift in European banking towards incorporating digital assets into institutional portfolios, raising questions about broader adoption among Eurozone banks.

CryptoEconomy

2026-02-17 23:09:13

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According to its recent 13F filing with the SEC, the Italian entity Intesa Sanpaolo reflected a massive increase in its exposure to digital assets**.** The report confirms that the bank increased its investment in Bitcoin by declaring approximately $96 million in spot ETFs, primarily distributed between ARK 21Shares and BlackRock’s iShares, far exceeding the experimental $1 million allocation previously reported.

This represents a milestone in European banking, as Bitcoin has transitioned from a speculative asset to a structured component in high-level institutional portfolios. In addition to ETFs, the bank diversified its position with investments in the Solana ecosystem, Circle shares, and a complex hedging strategy using “put” options on MicroStrategy, reflecting a sophisticated and regulated financial approach.

The market will be watching to see if this increase aligns with the bank’s 2026–2029 roadmap to scale its digital asset platform. The key will be to observe whether other Eurozone financial institutions follow this aggressive accumulation trend, which could consolidate digital assets as a reserve standard in traditional European banking.

**Source:**https://goo.su/9Utw1k

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