Italy’s largest banking group, Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP), significantly restructured its cryptocurrency ETF portfolio in the second quarter of 2026, slashing its exposure to a major Bitcoin product while tripling its holdings in a staked Ethereum fund. The moves, disclosed in its latest 13F filing with the U.S. SEC for the period ended June 30, 2026, came to light just as daily fund-flow data showed a sharp reversal in institutional demand for spot crypto ETFs on August 10.
Intesa Sanpaolo reduced its common-share stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by approximately 93.7%, from 646,809 shares to just 40,723 shares, valued at roughly $1.36 million. The bank also slashed its IBIT call options by more than 99%, leaving an underlying equivalent of only 18,000 shares, while initiating a new put option position covering 500,000 underlying IBIT shares — a clear defensive posture toward Bitcoin. However, the institution did not abandon Bitcoin entirely; it maintained a substantial position in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) with approximately 3.47 million shares worth $67.6 million, reduced by only about 4% from the prior quarter. Its holding in the Grayscale XRP Trust remained unchanged at 712,319 shares, while the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF was nearly eliminated, dropping from 2,817 shares to just seven.
At the same time, the bank sharply increased its exposure to BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), roughly tripling its stake from 116,200 shares to 349,600 shares, with a reported value of about $7.1 million. This product tracks ether’s price and passes through staking rewards, offering a yield-bearing alternative. The adjustment occurred against a backdrop of declining crypto prices during the second quarter, with Bitcoin and ether recording notable losses and U.S. spot crypto ETFs experiencing net outflows.
On August 10, 2026, the broader institutional appetite for crypto ETFs also showed signs of cooling. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs registered approximately $144.6 million in net outflows, ending a five-day inflow streak that had accumulated roughly $854 million between August 3 and August 7. BlackRock’s IBIT alone accounted for $53.56 million of those redemptions, swinging from being the week’s largest source of demand to the day’s biggest contributor to outflows. Ethereum ETFs lost $14.6 million, halting a four-session run of positive flows that had drawn $245 million in the prior week. The combined outflow of about $159 million was modest compared to the over $1 billion attracted during the previous week, suggesting a pause rather than a wholesale retreat. Bitcoin was trading around $65,000 as the data emerged, with the market absorbing the selling pressure without a significant deterioration in spot demand.
While Intesa Sanpaolo’s filing reflects a single institution’s quarterly rebalancing, the parallel shift in daily ETF flows adds weight to the narrative of a possible institutional rotation from pure Bitcoin exposure to yield-generating Ethereum products. The selective reduction in one Bitcoin vehicle alongside growth in a staked Ether instrument may indicate a broader reconsideration of how regulated crypto allocations are structured during volatile periods.