Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo disclosed approximately $96 million in holdings of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as of the quarter ending December 2025, according to a recent 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The disclosure marks a significant move by a major European financial institution into the burgeoning digital asset market.
The bulk of the investment, totaling $72.6 million, is allocated to the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB). A further $23.4 million is held in the iShares Bitcoin Trust, the filing shows. Intesa Sanpaolo also reported a $4.3 million stake in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, indicating exposure to the Solana blockchain and its staking rewards.
Beyond the ETF holdings, Intesa Sanpaolo has taken a substantial options position on Strategy, a company known as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 714,644 BTC currently on its balance sheet, valued at roughly $184.6 million. This position involves a large put option, giving the bank the right, but not the obligation, to sell shares of Strategy at a predetermined price. Analysts suggest this strategy could be designed to profit if Strategy’s stock price falls relative to the value of its underlying Bitcoin holdings.
The multiple of net asset value (mNAV) for Strategy, which compares the company’s enterprise value to its Bitcoin holdings, has been a focus for investors. Strategy was trading at 2.9 mNAV at one point, but has since fallen to 1.21 mNAV, according to the company’s website. A narrowing of this gap would generate a profit on Intesa Sanpaolo’s put option position.
The 13F filing also reveals smaller equity stakes in several other crypto-linked companies, including Coinbase, Robinhood, BitMine, and ETHZilla. The largest of these positions is a $4.4 million investment in Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin.
The investment decisions were made jointly by Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. And affiliated asset managers, as indicated by the “DFND” (Shared-Defined) designation used in the filing. It remains unclear whether these asset managers are internal trading desks or external institutional clients.
Intesa Sanpaolo previously purchased 11 Bitcoin for over $1 million in early 2025, demonstrating an earlier foray into direct cryptocurrency investment. The bank has maintained a proprietary trading desk for several years, which actively engages in cryptocurrency trading.
As of February 13, 2026, the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) was trading at $22.82, up 5.26% for the day, with a net asset value of $22.84 and assets under management of $2.44 billion, according to data from Yahoo Finance.