# Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest bank, more than doubled its crypto exposure in the first quarter of 2026.

*fintech · news · 2026-05-17 · Crypto Breaking News*

## Key points

- Intesa Sanpaolo doubled crypto exposure to $235 million by March 31, 2026, mainly via Bitcoin.
- The bank initiated its first crypto derivatives position with iShares Bitcoin Trust call options.
- Solana exposure was nearly eliminated, with Bitwise Solana ETF shares cut from 266,320 to 2,817.
- Intesa added Ripple XRP through Grayscale XRP Trust and adopted Ripple for digital asset custody.
- A consortium of twelve major European banks aims to launch a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin in 2026.

**Companies:** Intesa Sanpaolo, BlackRock, Ark 21Shares, Grayscale, BitGo, Securitize
**Countries:** Italy, Spain, France, Belgium

[Read the full story on Crypto Breaking News](https://www.cryptobreaking.com/italys-largest-bank-doubles-crypto/)

---

Canonical: https://newsio.io/n/1d7448ef-00ab-4005-8c92-e6e4d7546cf7/intesa-sanpaolo-italys-largest-bank-more-than-doubled-its-crypto-exposure-in-the
Summarized by Newsio from Crypto Breaking News. https://newsio.io/how-it-works