Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest financial institution, has reportedly entered the Bitcoin market by buying the main digital asset for 1 million euros.
This equates to roughly 11 BTC, in line with an inside e mail purportedly signed by Niccolo Bardoscia, head of the financial institution's digital asset buying and selling and funding division.
Though Intesa has not but confirmed the acquisition, a number of credible media shops, together with Reuters, have reported on it.
In the meantime, Intesa's introduced acquisition of Bitcoin follows a sequence of strategic strikes within the digital asset house.
Final yr, the financial institution's crypto division reportedly gained approval for spot crypto buying and selling, including to its current choices of crypto choices, futures and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Nonetheless, it’s unclear whether or not this buy of Bitcoin marks its broader enlargement into the digital asset ecosystem.
However, Pierre Rochard, vp of Bitcoin Miner Riot Platforms, highlighted the significance of this modification, noting that monetary establishments are more and more recognizing the potential of Bitcoin.
He declared:
“All banks want to begin accumulating BTC to recapitalize their steadiness sheets.”
Intesa is widely known as a pacesetter within the adoption of digital property inside the conventional Italian monetary sector. It additionally ranks first amongst Eurozone banks by way of market capitalization, valued at €69 billion, forward of rivals resembling Santander (€67 billion) and BNP Paribas (€66 billion). .
Institutional curiosity in Bitcoin
Market observers famous that Intesa's buy displays a broader development of elevated Bitcoin adoption amongst monetary establishments.
Information from Bitwise highlights that company demand for Bitcoin in 2025 has outpaced the availability of newly mined cash. Firms have collectively bought 5,774 BTC for the reason that begin of the yr, whereas solely 5,469 BTC had been mined throughout the identical interval.
Among the many high company patrons is MicroStrategy, which added round 3,600 BTC to its reserves this yr. Different firms like Semler Scientific and Ming Shing Group have additionally turned to Bitcoin of their liquidity and reserve diversification methods.
Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, expects this development to proceed this yr, saying:
“Firms shopping for Bitcoin shall be a significant theme in 2025.”
