Italy’s largest bank steps into Bitcoin with $1M purchase

Key Takeaways

• Intesa Sanpaolo purchased $1 million worth of Bitcoin as a test strategy.
• Institutional crypto adoption is expanding with significant investments from major firms.

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest banking group, purchased 11 Bitcoin worth approximately 1 million euros ($1 million) in its first spot Bitcoin acquisition, Bloomberg reported.

The purchase was revealed in an internal email by Niccolò Bardoscia, the bank’s digital asset trading head.

CEO Carlo Messina characterized the move as “an experiment, a test,” noting it represents a small portion of the bank’s 100 billion-euro securities portfolio.

The bank’s crypto desk previously focused on trading options, futures, and ETFs. In November, Bloomberg reported that Intesa had secured internal approvals and established technical infrastructure for spot crypto trading.

“We won’t become a Bitcoin provider, but we need to know how to do so if our bigger clients ask us to,” Messina said at an event in Milan.

The purchase comes amid ongoing macroeconomic concerns. Inflationary pressures have weighed heavily on crypto and traditional markets alike since the start of the year.

On Monday, Bitcoin fell below $90,000 for the first time since November, briefly plummeting by nearly 5% before recovering to $96,500 at press time.

A stronger-than-expected US economy and expectations of little easing by the Federal Reserve have amplified market uncertainty.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday that the producer price index (PPI) rose by 0.2% in December, slightly below economists’ consensus of 0.3%.

Wholesale prices saw a year-over-year increase to 3.3% from 3.0% in November. Markets remain on edge ahead of additional inflation data and Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration next Monday.

Despite these headwinds, crypto adoption continues to grow among financial institutions. BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF has amassed $51 billion in assets, while JPMorgan Chase is advancing its blockchain-based instant settlement system.

The European Union recently adopted its first comprehensive crypto regulations, paving the way for broader institutional participation.