Banca Intesa Sanpaolo has become the first Italian bank to buy Bitcoin, as revealed by screenshots leaked via email on 4chan.

According to A a report By Wired Italia Traders discovered a recent cryptocurrency purchase by Banca Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy The largest bank by assets. Intesa Sanpaolo has become the first Italian bank to invest in cryptocurrencies after purchasing 11 Bitcoin (Bitcoin) Its value is approximately one million euros, or the equivalent of 1.02 million dollars.

The investment was first revealed on the image-based posting platform 4chan, where users can share images and post comments anonymously. On January 13, an unknown user leaked screenshots of email exchanges sent by Niccolò Pardoscia, head of digital asset trading and investments at Intesa Sanpaolo.

“As of today 01/13/2025, Intesa Sanpaolo owns 11 bitcoins. Thank you all for the teamwork,” Bardosia said in an email addressed to some of the company’s executives who helped complete the purchase.

Banca Intesa Sanpaolo has since confirmed the authenticity of the purchase to Wired Italia, stating that they did indeed purchase 11 Bitcoin and that the emailed screenshots are real. However, the bank did not provide any other additional information regarding its investment in cryptocurrencies.

Based on the report, Wired Italia still does not know why Intesa Sanpaolo is investing in cryptocurrencies and whether it is part of its strategy to add more Bitcoin to its investment portfolio in the future.

So far, no other major Italian credit group has made any kind of official announcement about investing in cryptocurrencies. In fact, Intesa Sanpaolo has yet to disclose its recent purchase of Bitcoin through any of its official communication channels.

Last November, Intesa San Paolo Expanded Its digital asset products include spot trading for cryptocurrencies, according to Bloomberg. In the past, the Italian bank and Intesa have also collaborated with Ripple Custody, formerly Metaco, to facilitate the custody of token assets.

Ditto I mentioned By crypto.news Italy reduced its tax rates on crypto capital gains from 42% to about 26% last November after facing a backlash from players in the cryptocurrency industry. Moreover, the Italian Govt Announce It will provide selective guidance for financial institutions based on working with cryptocurrencies in the EU Market for Cryptoassets Regulation, or MiCA.