Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo cuts IBIT 94%, triples ETHB stake

Italy’s largest banking group, Intesa Sanpaolo, sharply reduced its reported position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust during the second quarter while increasing its exposure to BlackRock’s staked Ethereum fund. Summary Intesa Sanpaolo cut its IBIT common share position 93.7% during the second quarter, SEC filings show. The bank added put exposure tied to 500,000 IBIT shares while slashing reported calls sharply. Its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF holding tripled to 349,600 shares by June 30, 2026. Intesa still held 3.47 million ARKB shares worth $67.6 million, limiting overly bearish Bitcoin conclusions. The Bitwise Solana Staking ETF position collapsed from 2,817 shares to only seven reported shares. Intesa held 40,723 common shares of IBIT on June 30, down 93.7% from 646,809 shares at the end of March. Its reported IBIT call position also fell from an underlying 2.50 million shares to 18,000 shares. The latest Form 13F introduced a put position tied to 500,000 IBIT shares. At the same time, Intesa increased its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF holding from 116,200 to 349,600 shares. Its Bitwise Solana Staking ETF position fell from 2,817 shares to seven. These are report...