Intesa Sanpaolo Slashed IBIT 94%, Tripled Ether ETF in Q2
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- Intesa Sanpaolo slashed its IBIT shareholding by 94% in Q2 — from 646,809 shares to 40,723 shares worth $1.36 million as of June 30 — while eliminating 99% of its call options and adding puts covering 500,000 shares.
- Intesa Sanpaolo tripled its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) position to 349,600 shares valued at $7.10 million, up from $3.15 million, bucking the broader ether ETF outflow trend.
- Bitcoin fell 14% in Q2 after two straight quarters of 20%+ declines, and ether slumped 25%; U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs bled roughly $4.89 billion in net outflows, with IBIT alone shedding $2.95 billion.
- Among crypto-linked equities, Intesa nearly doubled its BitGo Holdings position to 323,000 shares while cutting Coinbase by 32%, Circle Internet by 10%, and Robinhood by 43%.
- The filing disclosed a new 5.66 million-share SpaceX position valued at $966.42 million — Intesa's largest disclosed holding — alongside a 92% reduction in its Tesla stake.
- Intesa made its first direct bitcoin purchase in January 2025, acquiring 11 BTC for about €1 million ($1.2 million) in what CEO Carlo Messina called an 'experiment.'
Why it matters: Intesa paired its 94% IBIT cut with new put options on 500,000 shares, actively hedging against further bitcoin declines even while tripling its ether ETF stake — a split stance during a quarter that saw $4.89 billion in total bitcoin ETF outflows. The bank's newly disclosed $966 million SpaceX position, now its largest holding, shows the crypto 'experiment' expanding well beyond digital assets into private tech equity.
