Intesa Sanpaolo Expands Crypto Investments Through US-Listed ETFs

The Turin-based bank's combined exposure to digital assets across a range of funds and related securities rose to approximately $235mn at current market values as of 31 Mar from roughly $100mn the previous quarter, according to data compiled from its filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

XRP and Ether added, Solana falls 

Among the largest changes was a new position in the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, with Intesa disclosing ownership of 712,319 shares. The filing also showed a new position in BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust product with staking exposure.

Simultaneously, Intesa significantly reduced its position in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, cutting holdings from more than 266,000 shares at the end of 2025 to just 2,817 shares by the end of the first quarter.

However, the bank's Bitcoin assets grew. Holdings in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF rose to more than 3.6mn shares from approximately 2.5mn in the previous quarter, while exposure to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust also expanded.

Crypto equities also disclosed 

The filing revealed holdings in several crypto-related equities and infrastructure firms, including Coinbase, BitGo and Ethereum-focused firms BTCS and EthZilla. 

Positions tied to BitMine were closed during the quarter, while exposure to Cantor Equity Partners II, the vehicle linked to the planned public listing of tokenization firm Securitize, was reduced.

On 15 Apr, Ripple announced in a statement that its custody platform would provide digital asset custody infrastructure for Intesa Sanpaolo. Ripple described custody as a foundational layer for institutional digital asset adoption, particularly as banks and financial institutions expand into tokenization, digital asset trading and blockchain-based financial services.