Italy’s Largest Bank Launches an XRP and Ethereum Initiative

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank, significantly increased its exposure to cryptocurrency assets in the first quarter of 2026.

According to the shared data, the bank increased its crypto-related assets from approximately $100 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 to approximately $235 million as of March 31.

According to the published table, the bank’s largest position is concentrated in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Intesa Sanpaolo’s ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF position increased from 2.49 million to 3.61 million, while its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF holdings rose from 470,000 to approximately 647,000. The bank also opened a new position of 2.49 million in iShares Bitcoin ETF call options.

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The bank also gained its first exposure to Ethereum. Intesa Sanpaolo made a new investment in ETH by purchasing approximately 3.15 million shares through the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust.

On the other hand, the bank also entered the Ripple-related products market. According to the data, Intesa Sanpaolo created a new XRP position worth approximately $18 million by purchasing 712,319 shares of the Grayscale XRP Trust.

In response, the bank significantly reduced its exposure to Solana. Its stake in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF fell from 266,000 to just 2,817. This indicates that the bank restructured its portfolio allocation in the first quarter, shifting it towards a Bitcoin and Ethereum-heavy portfolio.

*This is not investment advice.

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