Italy's biggest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, more than doubled its crypto portfolio in the first quarter of 2026, bringing the total to $235 million. The bank added Ethereum and XRP to its holdings while cutting back on Solana, according to its latest financial disclosures.
What the bank bought and sold
Intesa Sanpaolo didn't just grow the size of its crypto bet — it reshuffled the mix. The bank introduced Ethereum and XRP as new positions, marking its first disclosed exposure to those assets. At the same time, it reduced its Solana holdings. The moves suggest a strategic shift toward more established, higher-liquidity tokens, though the bank hasn't publicly explained the reasoning.
Intesa Sanpaolo is a bellwether for European institutional adoption. When a lender with €800 billion in assets makes a meaningful allocation to crypto, other banks tend to take notice. The $235 million figure is still a small slice of the bank's overall balance sheet, but the doubling in a single quarter signals growing comfort with digital assets among traditional finance giants.
The bank's next quarterly report, due in August, will show whether this was a one-time rebalancing or the start of a sustained buildup. For now, Intesa Sanpaolo joins a small but growing list of European banks holding crypto directly — rather than just offering custody or trading services.
