- Intesa Sanpaolo bought 11 Bitcoins worth a total of 1 million euros.
- The acquisition price ranged between 89,000 and 91,000 euros per bitcoin.
Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest banking group, has taken a step towards investing in cryptocurrencies. The bank’s trading department received 11 bitcoins. This was the first time that a credit institution in Italy bought and traded cryptocurrencies.
The digital asset trading and investment team at Intesa Sanpaolo acquired The assets have a market value of approximately €1 million. The acquisition price was between 89,000 and 91,000 euros per bitcoin.
This was also disclosed through internal communications within the bank. An email from Niccolò Pardoscia, head of digital asset trading and investments at Intesa Sanpaolo, confirmed the deal, saying: “As of today 01/13/2025, Intesa Sanpaolo owns 11 bitcoins. Thank you all for your teamwork.”
Italian banking sector
This acquisition by Intesa Sanpaolo is the first of its kind in the country, taking a step to modify the traditional model of cryptocurrencies in the banking sector. The bank’s decision to invest directly in Bitcoin demonstrates the acceptance of the digital asset in the mainstream financial industry.
The acquisition takes place in the same time frame as the EU markets are brought into the crypto-assets (MiCA) framework. It is a legislative framework aimed at increasing investor protection and transparency in the crypto-asset market. The launch of MiCA may have facilitated the regulatory certainty that Intesa Sanpaolo requires.
Furthermore, Intesa Sanpaolo’s purchase of Bitcoin is expected to have a ripple effect on Italy’s financial landscape. The bank announced profits of €7.2 billion during the first nine months of 2024.
In addition, no major credit group has yet announced direct investments in cryptocurrencies through the purchase of assets that will be included in the portfolio. And a disruptive measure in a national credit scenario, where the approach to cryptocurrencies has been very cautious so far.
Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta stated that unsecured crypto assets, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, are not issued by any operator. It also has no intrinsic value and does not generate income streams.
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