Intesa Cuts Bitcoin ETF Stake 94%, Triples Staked ETH

Intesa Sanpaolo cut its position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by about 94% and increased its holding in BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust to 349,600 shares, the bank reported in its Q2 2026 Form 13F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing shows the IBIT position fell from 646,809 shares to 40,723 shares, valued at $1.36 million as of June 30. Intesa eliminated roughly 99% of its IBIT call options and bought a put contract covering 500,000 shares.

Intesa retained a 3.47 million-share stake in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), valued at $67.6 million at quarter-end, down about 4% from the prior quarter. Its holding in the Grayscale XRP Trust remained at 712,319 shares.

The bank increased its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust position from 116,200 shares ($3.15 million) at the end of March to 349,600 shares ($7.1 million) by June 30. The staked-ethereum fund holds ether and passes through staking rewards of roughly 3% to 4% annually.

Ether fell about 25% in the second quarter, and bitcoin declined about 14%, marking a third consecutive quarterly drop. Net outflows from spot bitcoin ETFs totaled nearly $4.89 billion in the quarter, with IBIT accounting for about $2.95 billion of those withdrawals. Spot ethereum products recorded more than $715 million in outflows.

The filing also detailed equity changes in crypto infrastructure companies. Intesa nearly doubled its holding in BitGo Holdings to 323,000 shares and reduced positions in Coinbase (down 32%), Circle (down 10%) and Robinhood (down 43%).

Separately, Intesa disclosed the acquisition of 5.66 million shares in SpaceX, valued at $966.42 million. SpaceX holds 18,712 bitcoins on its corporate balance sheet, giving Intesa indirect exposure to bitcoin.

Carlo Messina characterized the bank’s first direct bitcoin purchase-11 bitcoins bought for about €1 million in January 2025-as an “experimental trial.” The filing indicates Intesa is managing a hedged crypto portfolio that rebalances between products and uses derivatives.

U.S. institutional investors with more than $100 million in U.S.-listed equities had until Aug. 14 to file second-quarter Form 13Fs; those filings will show whether other institutions made similar reallocations.