Italy’s largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, has made a direct purchase of Bitcoin for the first time. The bank invested around 1 million euros ($1 million) in the largest cryptocurrency, marking its entry into the digital asset market.
First purchase of 11 Bitcoin
Intesa bought 11 Bitcoin on Monday, according to an internal email from Niccolò Bardoscia, head of the bank’s digital asset trading and investment department. The email was shared on an online forum and local news confirmed the transaction. A spokesperson for Intesa declined to comment further.
Until now, Intesa has focused on crypto options, futures and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). But now the bank has the necessary internal approvals and technical infrastructure to make direct crypto purchases, Bloomberg previously reported.
Intesa follows the trend of major financial players
Intesa’s move comes at a time when other major financial institutions are expanding their involvement in crypto. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, now has $51 billion in assets in its spot Bitcoin ETF and is increasingly offering solutions for using digital assets as collateral. JPMorgan Chase is working on a blockchain platform for instant settlements between the euro and the dollar.
The European Union also adopted its first uniform crypto regulations late last year, paving the way for wider adoption of digital assets within the financial sector.
Bitcoin will fluctuate in 2025
The crypto market had a turbulent start to the year, partly due to concerns about inflation and possible restrictions on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. Bitcoin briefly fell below $90,000 on Monday — down nearly 5% since the start of 2025 — before recovering slightly. The largest cryptocurrency reached a record high of $108,316 in December.
With this first acquisition, Intesa Sanpaolo takes an important step towards a more prominent role in the world of digital assets.
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Source: https://newsbit.nl/italiaanse-grootbank-intesa-koopt-voor-het-eerst-bitcoin/
