Intesa Sanpaolo cuts IBIT stake, adds put exposure and triples BlackRock staked Ethereum ETF holdings

The Italian bank's June 30 filing showed sharply lower iShares Bitcoin Trust shares and calls, a new 500,000-share-equivalent put, and a much larger Ethereum ETF allocation.

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21d ago

Fact Check

Every element of the claim is corroborated by the primary SEC EDGAR 13F information tables. The Q2 2026 table (period 2026-06-30) shows the IBIT call on 18,000 underlying shares versus 2,496,500 in Q1 (a 99.3% reduction), the new put on 500,000 IBIT shares, the reduced IBIT common stake (40,723 shares), the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust at 349,600 shares (up from 116,200, more than tripled), and the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF at exactly 7 shares. The CryptoSlate article and the EDGAR filing index confirm the filer, dates, and figures. Only minor nuance: 13F reports long options as underlying shares and does not net out written positions, so net exposure is undisclosed, but that does not contradict the specific factual claims stated.

Summary

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest banking group, sharply reduced its reported exposure to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust in the second quarter while increasing its stake in BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF. The bank's latest Form 13F, for the period ended June 30, showed its IBIT holding fell to 40,723 shares from 648,923 in the prior quarter, a 93.7% drop, while the underlying share equivalent tied to IBIT call options sank 99.3% to 18,000 shares. Intesa also disclosed a new put position linked to 500,000 IBIT shares, suggesting either downside protection or a more complex options strategy. At the same time, it lifted its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF holding to 349,600 shares from 116,200, nearly tripling the position, while its Bitwise Solana Staking ETF stake fell to seven shares from 2,817. The filing alone does not show whether the bank has turned bearish on Bitcoin, since Form 13F reports only certain quarter-end holdings and does not capture off-balance-sheet exposure or wider derivatives positions. The move comes against a backdrop of heavy Bitcoin ETF outflows earlier in 2026, even as recent data from Farside Investors showed $11.9 million of outflows from ETH ETFs and $170.1 million of inflows into Bitcoin ETFs on Aug. 3.

Terms & Concepts

Form 13F: A quarterly U.S. filing that discloses certain long holdings of large investment managers, including options reported in underlying-share terms.
put position: An options exposure that generally gains value when the underlying asset falls and can be used for hedging or bearish bets.
staking: Committing tokens to help operate a proof-of-stake network in exchange for rewards.