Italy’s Biggest Bank Cuts IBIT Exposure by 94% While Buying More Staked Ethereum
Italy’s biggest banking group slashed its Bitcoin ETF stake while tripling Ethereum ETF holdings, according to its latest Form 13F.
Italy’s largest banking group, Intesa Sanpaolo, sharply reduced its reported exposure to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the second quarter.
While its BTC-related position changed, the bank more than tripled its holdings in staked ETH.
IBIT Holdings Plunges
According to its latest Form 13F, Intesa Sanpaolo held 40,723 IBIT shares as of June 30, which was down 93.7% from the 646,809 reported for March 31. The filing also revealed a major change in its reported call position in the fund. The underlying-share amount linked to its held-call row fell from 2,496,500 shares to 18,000, over a 99% decline.
Meanwhile, a new put position equivalent to 500,000 IBIT shares appeared in the June 30 disclosure. The reported figures, however, do not show that the bank adopted a net bearish strategy on Bitcoin.
Its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF holding rose from 116,200 shares to 349,600. On the other hand, its position in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF dropped from 2,817 to just seven.
The latest filing comes more than a year after Intesa Sanpaolo made its first direct Bitcoin purchase in January 2025. It bought 11 BTC for about $1.03 million. Back in July 2024, it also used the Polygon network to underwrite Italy’s first on-chain digital bond, worth $25.6 million. Later that year, it began offering options, futures and spot ETFs linked to digital assets through a dedicated desk.
Investors Turn to Ethereum ETFs
The bank’s move is significant as some BlackRock clients have recently made a similar shift. For instance, BSCN said customers of the asset management giant had sold around $60 million worth of the IBIT last week. At the same time, they bought more than $20 million worth of its ETHA spot Ethereum ETF.
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While Intesa cut its IBIT position, the broader US spot Bitcoin ETF market has recently moved in the other direction. These funds saw a record monthly net outflow of about $4.5 billion in June. The trend reversed in July, when the funds raked in $172.4 million. That marked a turnaround after two straight months of heavy withdrawals and helped BTC’s prices move back toward $64,000 in the middle of the month.
This sentiment appears to have continued into August, as the ETFs have attracted another $170 million so far. BlackRock’s IBIT remains the leading fund, with almost $61 billion in total inflows since it was first listed.