Italy's largest bank just made a striking move. Intesa Sanpaolo slashed its Bitcoin holdings by nearly 94% in a single quarter, cutting its BlackRock Bitcoin ETF shares from hundreds of thousands down to 40,723. Solana got hit harder, dropping from 2,817 shares to just 7. Meanwhile, Ethereum staking ETF holdings nearly tripled, jumping from 116,200 to 349,600 shares.
The portfolio pivot
The rebalancing happened between March and June. Intesa Sanpaolo had gradually expanded its crypto exposure throughout 2025, but this quarter marks a complete shift in direction. The bank is abandoning the mega-cap bets on Bitcoin and Solana, betting instead that staked Ethereum offers better risk-adjusted returns going forward. For a traditional lender with billions in assets, that's not a casual decision.
The moves speak louder than statements. Dumping 93.7% of Bitcoin holdings while quadrupling down on Ethereum suggests the bank's portfolio managers see staking yields and protocol participation as the next phase. It's not about picking which coin wins, but how institutions now expect to make money from them. Staking Ethereum generates regular cash flow, something passive Bitcoin holdings cannot match.
This material is informational only and does not constitute investment advice. Past holdings and trades do not predict future performance.
