Italian Bank Sloshes $100M into Bitcoin-Flipping Trad Finance Into Crypto

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Now the good folks over in Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo have decided to dip their toes-and their coffers-into the great Bitcoin fountain. They disclosed a hefty $100 million stake in those shiny, spot‑market Bitcoin index baskets that even the best of 13F hallways were once considered mortgages.

Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo Joins the Bitcoin ETF Circus

In a move that could make a hedge fund blush, the bank held roughly $96 million in U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs as of the close of 2025. The big one? The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin (BTC) ETF claimed a seat at the table weighing in at nearly $72.6 million, trailed by iShares Bitcoin Trust with about $23.4 million. The little extra? A $4.3 million clip in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF-so they’re not just chewing on the dog‑eared digital coin.

To sweeten the pot, Intesa revealed a substantial put on MicroStrategy, the “Czar” of corporate Bitcoin holders, allegedly to hedge if that company’s shares slid to the reserve value of its precious assets. Even the bank slipped in a scatter of equities in the likes of Coinbase and Circle, proving that digging into crypto isn’t just an ETF gig-the whole shebang is flat‑out digital.

Analysts are tip‑toeing that this is just a footnote in the dog‑gone trend of old‑school banks widening their radar to include regulated block‑chain tools. Even when markets go about as steady as a river in August, folks are still lining up, penning their grinny shareholders a froth of “digital gold.”

This jaw‑dropping revelation illustrates a world where the sun‑lit vaults of Milan and downright bitcoin volatility might be dancing in the same ballroom, shaking hands and closing deals with equally rattled fingers.

  • Intesa disclosed nearly $100 million in Bitcoin ETFs for Q4 2025.
  • Positions sit chiefly in U.S. listed spot Bitcoin ETFs, signaling a wider European adoption.
  • The filing also shows a keen eye on crypto‑linked equities-Coinbase, Circle, &c.

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2026-02-18 09:48