Italy’s largest banking establishment, Intesa Sanpaolo, has reportedly purchased Bitcoin price €1 million.
The transaction marks the primary direct cryptocurrency buy by a financial institution within the nation, probably reshaping its cautious strategy to digital belongings.
Breaking Custom
Rumors of the acquisition first emerged on 4chan after a consumer shared screenshots of emails attributed to Intesa’s head of digital asset buying and selling and funding, Niccolò Bardoscia.
The messages confirmed Bardoscia celebrating the accomplishment and commending the collaboration behind the operation, with one e mail studying, “As of right now, Intesa Sanpaolo owns 11 Bitcoins. Thanks all to your teamwork.”
In response to Wired Italia, a financial institution consultant verified the acquisition particulars, acknowledging that the establishment obtained 11 BTC for about $1.03 million.
The entity is not any stranger to crypto, having used the Polygon community to underwrite Italy’s first on-chain digital bond, price $25.6 million, in July 2024. Later that yr, it began providing choices, futures, and spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to digital belongings through a devoted desk.
Market watchers view its BTC buy as a defiance of Italy’s conservative strategy in direction of digital belongings, a perspective seemingly personified by the nation’s central financial institution governor, Fabio Panetta.
The 65-year-old economist is reported to have expressed skepticism in regards to the intrinsic worth and safety of such merchandise, labeling them as speculative and weak to fraud and cybersecurity dangers.
Institutional Adoption
Intesa’s foray into BTC coincides with a rising pattern of institutional curiosity in cryptocurrencies pioneered by MicroStrategy. On Monday, the U.S.-based software program big purchased an extra 2,530 cash for $243 million, bringing its whole holdings to 450,000.
Equally, Japanese funding agency Metaplanet lately introduced plans to develop its Bitcoin reserves to 10,000 items. In the meantime, vitality storage firm KULR Expertise Group dedicated to allocating as much as 90% of its surplus money into the cryptocurrency.
The group began by shopping for greater than 217 cash for $21 million on Boxing Day final yr, with its CEO, Michael Mo, highlighting the asset’s utility as a hedge in opposition to inflation and geopolitical instability.
Medical gear producer Semler Scientific has additionally had a profitable Bitcoin treasury technique. Between December 16, 2024, and January 10, 2025, it acquired 237 BTC for greater than $23 million, bringing its total stash to 2,321 cash price about $224.4 million on the present value.
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