Intesa Cut IBIT 94%, Tripled ETHB Stake in Q2
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- Intesa Sanpaolo slashed its IBIT stake by 94% in Q2, falling from 646,809 shares to 40,723 shares valued at $1.36 million as of June 30.
- Intesa Sanpaolo nearly eliminated its IBIT call options (99% reduction) and added put options covering 500,000 shares, hedging against further declines.
- iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) saw Intesa triple its position to 349,600 shares worth $7.10 million, even as ether fell 25% in the quarter.
- Bitcoin slid 14% in Q2 while U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $4.89 billion of net outflows, with IBIT alone shedding $2.95 billion, per SoSoValue data.
- Intesa Sanpaolo nearly doubled its BitGo Holdings (BTGO) stake to 323,000 shares while cutting Coinbase (-32%), Circle (-10%), and Robinhood (-43%).
- SpaceX became Intesa's largest disclosed holding at 5.66 million shares worth $966.42 million — SpaceX itself holds 18,712 bitcoin worth $1.18 billion after its June 12 IPO.
- Intesa Sanpaolo cut its Tesla stake by 92% in the same quarter; CEO Carlo Messina had called the bank's first direct bitcoin purchase in January 2025 (11 BTC for ~€1M) an "experiment."
Why it matters: Institutional crypto exposure isn't vanishing — it's being rotated. Intesa Sanpaolo's Q2 filing shows the bank cut bitcoin ETF exposure by 94% while tripling ether ETF holdings, and opened a $966 million SpaceX position (now its largest disclosed holding). SpaceX itself holds 18,712 bitcoin, meaning Intesa is gaining indirect BTC exposure through equity while cutting direct ETF exposure. The rebalancing, not retreat, is the story.
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