Italy's Largest Bank Takes $18M Stake in Grayscale XRP Trust in Q1

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest banking group, reportedly stepped up its exposure to digital assets in the first quarter of 2026, adding an XRP-linked holding via the Grayscale XRP Trust and expanding its broader crypto-related portfolio. Reports citing Q1 figures said the bank held 712,319 shares of the Grayscale XRP Trust, valued at about $18 million. The stake provides indirect exposure to XRP through an investment vehicle rather than direct ownership of the token. Overall, Intesa Sanpaolo's crypto-related assets were reported to have risen to around $235 million by the end of Q1 2026, up from roughly $100 million at the end of Q4 2025. The increase reflects a wider allocation to digital-asset-linked products tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, alongside a reduction in some Solana-linked exposure. Intesa Sanpaolo serves about 14 million customers and operates across retail banking, corporate finance, investment banking, wealth management and private banking. The XRP-linked position marks the group's first reported exposure to XRP in the quarter. Institutional investors continue to track XRP closely given its links to payments, liquidity tools and the XRP Ledger, as well as its prominent role in U.S. crypto policy discussions following Ripple's long-running dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reported portfolio changes also included a larger Bitcoin allocation and first-time Ethereum exposure, while trimming Solana-linked products. Intesa Sanpaolo was said to have added Ethereum exposure through the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust and reduced Solana exposure via the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF. The use of trust and ETF-style structures underscores how large banks often access crypto exposure through regulated investment wrappers aligned with internal risk frameworks, custody requirements and approved channels. Separately, Intesa Sanpaolo has also been reported to be using Ripple Custody, formerly known as Metaco, as part of its digital asset infrastructure. Ripple Custody provides institutional tools to store and manage digital assets, including tokenized assets. For banks expanding into tokenized finance, custody platforms support secure storage, access controls, transaction approvals and operational reporting, and can enable activity across digital securities, tokenized funds and other blockchain-based instruments. The reported combination of XRP-linked exposure and custody infrastructure points to a broader institutional move as demand for regulated crypto products and tokenized financial instruments develops across wealth management, private banking, corporate banking and investment banking.