Italy's largest bank Q1 crypto asset holdings rise to $235 million, first allocation to Ethereum and XRP

Odaily reports that Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest bank, increased its crypto asset-related holdings from approximately $100 million at the end of 2025 to about $235 million in the first quarter of 2026.

Specifically, the bank increased its holdings in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and BlackRock's IBIT, and allocated to Ethereum assets for the first time through BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust, while also adding approximately $26 million in Grayscale XRP Trust ETF holdings.

Furthermore, Intesa also established its first long call option position in IBIT and added 165,600 shares of BitGo stock, while liquidating its Bitmine-related positions. Its Solana-related allocations were significantly reduced, with holdings in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF dropping from 266,300 shares to 2,817 shares.

Reports indicate that Intesa has previously confirmed that these crypto assets are primarily used for proprietary trading. Last month, Ripple also announced that it would provide digital asset custody services for the bank. (Cointelegraph)