According to Woofun AI, Italy and Bank of San Paolo completed a major shift in crypto asset allocation in the second quarter, significantly increasing Ethereum exposure while drastically reducing Bitcoin-related positions, marking a structural adjustment in traditional financial institutions' risk appetite for digital assets.
According to data compiled by Woofun AI, as of June 30, the bank's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB.US) (ETHB) share had increased to 349,600 shares, worth 7.1 million US dollars, doubling from 116,200 shares and 3.15 million US dollars at the end of March. In stark contrast to this, its holdings in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT.US) (IBIT, BLK.US) Bitcoin ETF experienced a cliff-style decline, falling sharply from 646,809 shares to 40,723 shares, or about 94%.
This 'increase B and subtract A' operation highlights the bank's clear choice after re-balancing the Ethereum Proof of Stake mechanism with Bitcoin's spot.
In terms of other crypto assets, ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB.US) (ARKB) remains the bank's largest single crypto exposure, holding 3.47 million shares worth $67.6 million, although down about 4% from the first quarter.
Furthermore, the bank maintained its Grayscale Ripple Trust ETF (GXRP.US) (GXRP) position unchanged at 712,319 shares; at the same time, it doubled its BitGo holdings to 323,000 shares, while Coinbase (COIN.US) holdings were drastically reduced to 7,000 shares.
This series of fine-tuning shows that while maintaining core Bitcoin exposure, the bank is actively optimizing risk exposure for underlying service providers and specific asset classes.
Cryptocurrency ETFs enable banks and other institutional investors to access digital assets through regulated securities products, thereby eliminating the many custodial, compliance, and operational requirements associated with directly holding cryptocurrencies.