Intesa Sanpaolo Slashes Bitcoin ETF Stake, Doubles Down on Ethereum
Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, has significantly reduced its stake in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), by 93.7% to 40,723 shares worth $1.36 million as of June 30. This move comes after the bank tripled its holding in the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF to 349,600 shares worth $7.1 million.
The bank's new position on IBIT includes a put covering 500,000 shares, which typically gains value when the underlying asset falls. Intesa Sanpaolo has not abandoned Bitcoin entirely and still holds 3.47 million shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) worth $67.6 million.
Other institutions, such as trading giant Jane Street, have made similar shifts in their investment strategies. Jane Street cut its IBIT common stock position by 71% and nearly doubled its iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) stake to 11.1 million shares.