- Intesa Sanapolo reports over $96 million in spot bitcoin ETF holdings and a $4.3 million position in a Solana staking ETF
- The bank holds a $184.6 million put option on Strategy and smaller equity stakes in Coinbase, Robinhood, BitMine, ETHZilla and Circle
Italian banking group Intesa Sanapolo has reported sizeable exposure to bitcoin exchange-traded funds and other crypto-related assets in its latest U.S. regulatory filing, underscoring the growing integration of digital assets into mainstream institutional portfolios. The bank’s 13F filing for the quarter ending December 2025 details positions in spot bitcoin ETFs, a Solana-linked fund, a significant options trade tied to a major corporate bitcoin holder, and smaller stakes in crypto-related equities.
Intesa Sanapolo’s bitcoin ETF and Solana exposures
According to the 13F submission, Intesa Sanapolo held five spot bitcoin ETF positions with a combined value slightly above $96 million at the end of the reporting period. The bulk of this exposure was concentrated in two vehicles:
- Approximately $72.6 million in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
- Around $23.4 million in the iShares Bitcoin Trust
Together, these two holdings account for the entirety of the disclosed spot bitcoin ETF allocation, indicating a focused approach to listed bitcoin products rather than a broad spread across the growing field of issuers.
Beyond bitcoin, the filing shows that the bank also invested in a fund tied to another major cryptocurrency. Intesa Sanapolo reported a stake worth about $4.3 million in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF. This product tracks the value of solana and incorporates staking rewards, giving investors both price exposure to SOL and an additional yield component from network participation. The position signals an interest not only in bitcoin but also in token-specific strategies that include on-chain activity such as staking.
These holdings follow an earlier move by the bank, which acquired 11 bitcoin for more than $1 million early last year. That purchase, together with the ETF positions, points to a multi-channel approach to digital assets combining direct holdings and listed securities.
Options bet linked to a major corporate bitcoin holder
Alongside its ETF investments, Intesa Sanapolo disclosed a large derivatives position tied to Strategy, described in the filing as the largest corporate owner of bitcoin, with 714,644 BTC on its balance sheet. The bank reported a put option position on Strategy shares valued at approximately $184.6 million.
This put option grants Intesa Sanapolo the right, but not the obligation, to sell Strategy’s stock at a predetermined price at a future date. When considered together with the long exposure to spot bitcoin ETFs, the trade structure suggests a relative-value strategy focused on the pricing of Strategy’s equity versus its underlying bitcoin reserves.
Strategy has been trading at a multiple of its net asset value, or mNAV, which is calculated by comparing the company’s enterprise value to the value of its bitcoin holdings. At one stage, the firm’s shares traded at 2.9 mNAV, meaning the market valued the company at 2.9 times the worth of its bitcoin. That multiple has since declined to 1.21 mNAV, according to data on Strategy’s website.
If the stock price continues to converge toward the value implied by its BTC holdings, the put option position could benefit from further compression of that premium. In such a scenario, the directional bitcoin exposure held through ETFs might be partially insulated from company-specific equity risk, with the options position designed to profit from any continued normalization of Strategy’s valuation relative to its bitcoin balance sheet.
Broader crypto-linked equity positions and governance structure
The same 13F filing lists smaller equity stakes in several firms operating in or adjacent to the digital asset ecosystem. These include holdings in Coinbase, Robinhood, BitMine, and ETHZilla. All of these positions are modest compared with the bank’s bitcoin ETF exposure and the large Strategy options trade. The biggest of the crypto-related equity stakes is approximately $4.4 million in Circle.
While the sums involved in these company shares are minor, they illustrate a broader footprint across different segments of the crypto market: trading platforms, brokerage services, mining-related activity, and a major stablecoin issuer in the case of Circle.
The filing categorizes the positions under the “DFND” (Shared-Defined) designation. This label indicates that portfolio decisions were made collectively by Intesa Sanapolo S.p.A. and affiliated asset managers, rather than by a single decision-making entity. Such a structure is typical when a parent bank sets overarching risk parameters or strategic guidelines while subsidiaries or associated managers implement specific trades.
It remains unclear from the filing whether these affiliated asset managers are part of Intesa Sanapolo’s own trading operations or represent external institutional clients operating under the bank’s umbrella. This ambiguity extends to the precise balance between proprietary activity and client-directed mandates within the reported crypto-related positions. The bank has not yet provided clarification; industry outlet CoinDesk has requested comment from Intesa Sanapolo but had not received a response at the time of writing.
Divergence between U.S. units and proprietary trading activity
While the main filing shows substantial digital asset exposure, Intesa Sanapolo’s U.S. wealth management arm reported a different stance. A separate 13F submitted by that unit indicated no holdings tied to digital assets for the same period. The contrast suggests that the crypto positions are concentrated in specific entities within the group, rather than reflecting a uniform policy across all business lines.
Intesa Sanapolo has maintained a proprietary trading desk for several years, and this desk also manages cryptocurrency trading. The presence of this in-house capability helps explain the bank’s comfort with more complex positions, such as the sizable Strategy put options and the allocation to a staking-focused Solana ETF. However, the filings do not clearly delineate which trades arise from pure proprietary activity and which may be associated with institutional or high-net-worth clients overseen by affiliated managers.
The split between the main group filing, which includes multiple crypto-linked holdings, and the crypto-free disclosure from the U.S. wealth unit highlights how different regulatory environments, client profiles, and risk frameworks can produce divergent strategies within a single financial conglomerate.
Key takeaways
- Intesa Sanapolo disclosed over $96 million in spot bitcoin ETF holdings.
- The bank holds a $4.3 million position in a Solana staking ETF.
- A large $184.6 million put option on Strategy targets valuation gaps tied to its bitcoin holdings.
- Smaller equity stakes include Coinbase, Robinhood, BitMine, ETHZilla, and about $4.4 million in Circle.
- Crypto exposure is absent from the U.S. wealth arm’s separate 13F filing.
Conclusion
The latest 13F filing shows Intesa Sanapolo using a mix of spot bitcoin ETFs, a Solana staking vehicle, equity stakes, and a substantial options position to build varied exposure to digital assets and related companies. The DFND structure indicates shared decision-making between the bank and affiliated managers, while the absence of crypto positions in the U.S. wealth management arm underscores differing approaches within the group. With an established proprietary trading desk already handling cryptocurrencies and a prior direct bitcoin purchase on record, the disclosed portfolio suggests that digital assets now form a defined, though carefully targeted, component of Intesa Sanapolo’s broader investment activity.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The article does not offer sufficient information to make investment decisions, nor does it constitute an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument. The content is opinion of the author and does not reflect any view or suggestion or any kind of advise from CryptoNewsBytes.com. The author declares he does not hold any of the above mentioned tokens or received any incentive from any company.
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