🏦 The meaning of the move by Intesa Sanpaolo

This is the first time that a major Italian bank has made a direct purchase of cryptocurrencies (or at least what is stated as a “direct spot purchase”).

The institution now has an internal “crypto-desk,” active for a few years, but until now it mostly operated with traditional financial instruments (e.g., ETP).

For the bank, this is not (at least according to the words of CEO Carlo Messina) a decisive large-scale entry: the investment is defined as a “test,” a modest operation compared to the entirety of its portfolios.

Messina also clarified that the bank will probably not become a generalist “crypto player”: the strategy remains focused on “sophisticated clients,” not retail investors.