Intesa Sanpaolo Cuts Bitcoin Call Position by 99%, Boosts Staked Ethereum

Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, has made significant changes to its cryptocurrency holdings. In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the bank revealed that it had cut its call position on iShares Bitcoin Trust by an astonishing 99.3%.

The bank's June 30 disclosure showed that it held just 18,000 underlying shares in its held-call row, down from 2,496,500 at the end of March. This drastic reduction is a notable shift in Intesa's Bitcoin holdings, which had previously been on the rise.

However, the bank has not abandoned Bitcoin entirely. It still holds a put position equivalent to 500,000 underlying shares in iShares Bitcoin Trust, although this is an incomplete measure of economic risk due to the lack of detailed information provided by the SEC filing.

In contrast, Intesa's Ethereum holdings have seen significant growth. The bank's staked Ethereum ETF balance has roughly tripled, rising from 116,200 shares at the end of March to 349,600 at the end of June.