Intesa Sanpaolo cut its bitcoin bet to almost nothing in the spring. The Italian bank slashed its IBIT stake by 94%, leaving just 40,723 shares worth $1.36 million by June 30, down from 646,809 shares three months prior. It also ditched 99% of its call options, those bets that let you buy shares at a locked-in price.
Bitcoin tanked 14% that quarter. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs overall bled roughly $4.89 billion, with IBIT alone losing $2.95 billion. Ether got hammered even worse, dropping 25%, yet Intesa made the opposite move. The Turin-based company tripled its Ethereum ETF position, piling into BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) to 349,600 shares. That stake jumped from $3.15 million to $7.10 million in three months.
Hedging against volatility
The bank wasn't just repositioning randomly. It eliminated call options entirely, which protect against price dips, then added put options to cover 500,000 shares basically insurance against further losses. This defensive shift tells you something: institutional money was getting nervous about the space. Spot ether ETFs suffered $715 million in outflows during the same period, yet Intesa doubled down anyway.
Italy's second-largest bank by market cap was making a calculated move. While everyone else was bailing on Bitcoin ETFs amid the downturn, Intesa spotted opportunity in staked Ethereum. The bank also nearly doubled its BitGo Holdings position, signaling conviction that crypto infrastructure plays held more upside than spot Bitcoin exposure when prices were sliding.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Crypto markets are volatile and positions can change rapidly.
