Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest banking group, has dramatically reshaped its cryptocurrency ETF portfolio, reducing its underlying-share amount in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) call position by 99.3% during the second quarter while nearly tripling its stake in a staked Ethereum product. The disclosure came in a Form 13F filing dated July 31, reflecting holdings as of June 30, and marks a stark pivot away from Bitcoin ETF options toward yield-generating Ethereum exposure.
The filing shows Intesa's common IBIT position fell from 646,809 shares to 40,723, a drop of 93.7%. Even more notable, the held-call row—representing options on IBIT—saw its underlying-share equivalent plummet from 2,496,500 to just 18,000, or 99.3%. At the same time, a put row for 500,000 underlying shares appeared, which was absent in the prior quarter. However, the Form 13F does not provide strike, expiration, or delta details, so the net directional exposure or hedging intent cannot be deduced from the snapshot alone.
In contrast, Intesa's position in the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF surged from 116,200 shares to 349,600—slightly more than triple. Its Bitwise Solana Staking ETF holding collapsed from 2,817 shares to just seven. The Grayscale XRP Trust ETF remained unchanged at 712,319 shares. The reshuffling points to a clear institutional preference for staked Ethereum products over Bitcoin options and Solana exposure.
This shift aligns with broader U.S. market data. On August 3, spot Ethereum ETFs saw a net outflow of $11.9 million, according to Farside Investors, breaking a two-day inflow streak. BlackRock's spot Ether ETF (ETHA) led redemptions with $9 million in outflows, followed by Grayscale's ETHE ($7.8 million) and Bitwise's ETHW ($2.5 million). Fidelity's FETH recorded a $0.9 million outflow. Yet BlackRock's staked Ethereum ETF (ETHB) attracted $5.8 million in inflows the same day, the only product in the group to see positive flows, underscoring investor appetite for yield-bearing crypto instruments even during risk-off periods.
