Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo tripled its holdings of the iShares Staking Ethereum Trust ETF in the second quarter and reduced its exposure to some bitcoin ETFs. As of June 30, it held 349,600 shares of ETHB valued at $7.1 million, up from 116,200 shares worth $3.15 million at end-March. Its IBIT holding fell about 94 percent, while ARKB slipped about 4 percent.

Bitcoin fell as low as $58,700 on June 24, prompting increased hedging in the options market against a possible drop to $52,000 this year. Trading in BlackRock\'s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF options neared 1.1 million contracts, almost double the 30-day average, with activity concentrated in put options. Leverage unwinds accelerated, with $450 million in leveraged long positions liquidated in 60 minutes. Weakness also spread to Strategy-related options activity.