Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest banking group, sharply reduced its holding in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust during the second quarter while materially increasing its exposure to BlackRock’s staked Ethereum fund, according to a new Form 13F filing.

The disclosure shows the bank cut its IBIT position by 93.7% to 40,723 shares worth about $1.36 million as of June 30. Over the same period, it raised its stake in the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust to 349,600 shares valued at roughly $7.1 million, up from 116,200 shares three months earlier.

A steep reduction in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF exposure

The filing indicates Intesa Sanpaolo held 646,809 shares of IBIT at the end of the prior quarter, making the latest reduction one of the most notable shifts in its reported US-listed crypto ETF book. The bank’s listed call exposure tied to IBIT also fell sharply, with the underlying share count dropping 99.3% from 2.5 million to 18,000.

A new put position covering 500,000 IBIT shares appeared in the same filing. That change may point to a more defensive stance toward Bitcoin, although the filing alone does not reveal the institution’s complete economic exposure.

Ethereum stake grows as Solana position fades

At the same time, Intesa Sanpaolo expanded its holding in BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust to 349,600 shares, roughly tripling the position from the previous quarter. Based on the filing, the holding was worth about $7.1 million at the end of June.

The bank also sharply reduced its position in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, cutting it from 2,817 shares to just seven. The move suggests a narrower focus within its crypto-linked allocations rather than a broad increase across all staking-related products.

Bitcoin remains a major part of the bank’s crypto ETF book

Despite the reduction in IBIT, Intesa Sanpaolo did not exit Bitcoin-related exposure. The filing shows it continued to hold 3.47 million shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, valued at $67.6 million, which remained the bank’s largest reported crypto ETF position.

Elsewhere, the lender kept its $14.4 million position in the Grayscale XRP Trust unchanged and opened a smaller stake of $293,190 in the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust. Taken together, the positions show reallocation within crypto products rather than a wholesale retreat from the sector.

What the filing does and does not show

Form 13F reports capture long positions in US-listed securities, but they do not provide a full view of short exposure or the complete structure of an institution’s options trades. Because of those limits, Intesa Sanpaolo’s net position on Bitcoin and related products cannot be determined from this filing alone.

The bank’s reshuffle adds to a broader discussion over whether some institutions are favoring Ethereum products that include staking rewards. The source article notes that Jane Street also reduced its IBIT common stock position in the first quarter while increasing its Ethereum ETF exposure, though as a market maker it may be holding inventory on behalf of clients rather than expressing a straightforward directional view.

Market backdrop and next disclosures

The article links Intesa Sanpaolo’s changes to a quarter in which US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw sustained pressure. According to SoSoValue data cited in the report, those funds recorded heavy net outflows for most of the second quarter, including a record $4.5 billion in June.

More second-quarter 13F filings are expected before the August 14 deadline. Those reports should provide a clearer picture of whether Intesa Sanpaolo’s shift was an isolated portfolio adjustment or part of a wider institutional move away from Bitcoin ETFs and toward Ethereum-linked funds.

Source: beincrypto.com