Key facts
- Intesa Sanpaolo tripled its stake in a staked Ether ETF to $7.1 million.
- The bank's holdings in the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) increased from $3.15 million to $7.1 million.
- Intesa Sanpaolo reduced its stake in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) by approximately 94%.
- The bank maintained its position in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), though its share count decreased by 4%.
Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest banking group, significantly adjusted its cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded fund holdings in the second quarter. The bank tripled its investment in an iShares staked Ether ETF, increasing its position to $7.1 million by June 30. This marks a substantial rise from $3.15 million at the end of March.
Concurrently, Intesa Sanpaolo reduced its exposure to spot Bitcoin ETFs. While the bank retained 3.47 million shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) valued at $67.6 million, this represented a 4% decrease in share count from the previous quarter. More dramatically, the bank cut its holdings in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) by approximately 94%, reducing its stake to 40,723 shares from 646,809 shares.
The bank also maintained its position in the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF (GXRP) with 712,319 shares, nearly doubled its BitGo stake to 323,000 shares, and decreased its Coinbase position to 7,000 shares. These crypto ETFs offer institutional investors regulated avenues to gain exposure to digital assets without the complexities of direct cryptocurrency custody and compliance.