Intesa Sanpaolo slashed IBIT stake by 94% in 2Q, tripled ether ETF holding as crypto prices slumped The Italian bank tripled its holding of iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF stake as total bitcoin ETF holdings fell 35% to $69.3 million. – Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo…
t its IBIT shareholding by 94%, nearly eliminated its calls and added puts covering 500,000 shares in the second quarter. – In contrast, it tripled its stake in iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB). – Bitcoin slid 14% in the quarter and U.S. spot ETFs saw net outflows of $4.89 billion, while ether slumped 25% with a net $715 million of ETF outflows. Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP), Italy’s second-largest bank by market capitalization, reduced its bitcoin The bank reported owning 40,723 shares of IBIT valued at $1.36 million as of June 30, down from 646,809 shares three months earlier, according to its latest filings
The bank also got rid of 99% of its call options, which give it the right, but not the obligation, to buy shares in the ETF at a predetermined price, while adding put options, which give the equivalent right to sell. The Turin-based company’s holdings restructuring took place during a quarter that saw the bitcoin price slump 14% after two successive quarters of declines in excess of 20%. For ether (ETH), in contrast, the bank bolstered its ETF positions even as the second-largest cryptocurrency slid 25%.
It wasn’t alone in rejigging its exposure to cryptocurrencies. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs overall recorded roughly $4.89 billion of net outflows in the three months through June, according to SoSoValue data. IBIT alone lost $2.95 billion.