Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo adds $26mln XRP ETF exposure – Details
Why is this banking group still doubling down while crypto markets are shaken by scams and volatility?
Intesa Sanpaolo, an Italian international banking group, has reportedly doubled down on crypto. According to Criptovaluta.it, the banking group has now invested in Ripple’s XRP through Grayscale’s ETF.
As of the 31st of March 2026, the banking group owns 712,319 shares of Grayscale XRP TR ETF, which is currently worth about $26 million.
Intesa Sanpaolo’s crypto bets
That said, in Q4 2025, Intesa Sanpaolo had already declared positions in several US-listed ETFs, including Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], and Solana [SOL], via various ETFs.
For background, approximately $100 million had already been invested in various Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ETFs.
At current prices, the exposure of about $100 million for the final quarter of 2025 has risen to about $235 million. However, Banca Intesa also noted that, as of now, the crypto holdings are just for proprietary trading purposes.
This means that the banking group holds the asset for its own internal trading activities and not on behalf of clients as yet.
Giving up on Solana and more
Amidst such positive momentum, Intesa Sanpaolo has reduced its Solana exposure. This might be due to the fact that the Solana price has been unable to catch bullish momentum.
For the most part, Solana was under selling pressure in Q1 2026, as AMBCrypto previously reported. That being said, SOL fell from around $124 at the start of the year to $81 by the end of March 2026.
However, with the entry of Ethereum and its staking feature, the overall sentiment of the Italian banking group appears positive.
Additionally, as of 2025, Intesa Sanpaolo also owned a number of cryptocurrency stocks. However, as of the latest update, BitGo’s shares are in, Bitmine’s shares are out, and Put Strategy is closed.
2026 – A turbulent year indeed!
This reshuffling of assets happened at a time when a lot had already happened in 2026. The Middle East tensions, Donald Trump’s tariff shocks, the Fed rate cut, and other factors had taken the crypto market by storm.
Finally, the cryptocurrency market was further strained by the increase in scams and exploits in 2026.
As AMBCrypto previously reported, losses jumped in May, bringing the year-to-date total to almost $770 million. Herein, more than $600 million was lost on nearly 30 incidents in April alone.
Final Summary
- Intesa Sanpaolo has reduced its exposure to Solana while increasing its investment in ARK+21Shares ETF and BlackRock’s iShares.
- Despite a turbulent year, the Italian banking group echoes signs that crypto adoption still continues.
