Italy's biggest bank has reportedly made its first proprietary Bitcoin (BTC) trade, as analysts expect the value of the flagship crypto asset to increase by more than double this year.
Italy’s biggest bank has reportedly made its first proprietary Bitcoin (BTC) trade, as analysts predict the value of the flagship crypto asset will increase by more than double this year.
According to a report by Reuters, an internal memo it obtained shows that Intesa Sanpaolo purchased 11 BTC, valued at over $1 million, on Monday. The bank’s CEO, Carlo Messina, stated that the small trade was conducted by the bank as a test to prepare for clients interested in the nascent asset.
“As a wealth management company that has the ambition to become like (Swiss rival) UBS, we have very sophisticated clients that may ask for this kind of investment and you can’t serve them unless you have a presence (in the market).”
Intesa Sanpaolo is currently the world’s 36th largest bank, with total assets amounting to $1.06674 trillion at the end of 2023. Messina noted that the purchase does not indicate that the bank will become a major player in the Bitcoin market, as it has “very limited” capacity to invest in crypto assets.
“We tested how to handle any potential requests from clients, but there will anyway be very tight limits and clients will need to prove they understand potential risks.”
Meanwhile, analysts are optimistic about Bitcoin’s price trajectory in 2024, with some predicting that the king coin will hit $200,000 this year. This bullish outlook is driven by expectations of a more favorable regulatory environment under the administration of Donald Trump.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $99,895.
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