Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit are on opposite sides in the banking reshuffle surrounding Monte dei Paschi. In the crypto sector, however, the two banks sit on the same consortium for a euro stablecoin. Commerzbank, at the centre of UniCredit’s other offer, already holds a German licence for crypto custody. The picture is one of the same Italian banks competing in mergers while joining forces on a stablecoin project.

The banking reshuffle between Intesa and MPS also brings in UniCredit

Intesa Sanpaolo launched a total public tender and exchange offer (OPAS) for Monte dei Paschi shares in June. For each MPS share, it is offering 1.6 newly issued Intesa shares and €1 in cash, representing a 12.5% premium over the 5 June price. The maximum consideration would reach approximately €30.6 billion in the event of full acceptance. MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio considers intervention by UniCredit, following the shareholders’ meeting, to be a possible option. On the German front, following its offer, UniCredit has raised its stake in Commerzbank to 49.65% of voting rights, pending authorisations.

Qivalis, the stablecoin bringing the rivals together

In September 2025, UniCredit was among the nine founding European banks of Qivalis, a company headquartered in Amsterdam. The project involves a euro stablecoin, meaning a token pegged one-to-one to the single currency and backed by liquid reserves. Qivalis has applied for a licence from the Dutch central bank under MiCA, the European crypto regulation. The authorisation has not yet been granted, and the launch remains scheduled for the second half of 2026. In May, the consortium grew to 37 banks, with Intesa Sanpaolo also among the new members.

Commerzbank and Intesa take their first steps into crypto

Commerzbank obtained a German licence for crypto custody in November 2023, meaning the safekeeping of assets on behalf of clients. It was the first major German commercial bank to receive one. Since 2024, it has collaborated with Crypto Finance, a Deutsche Börse Group company, to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum to corporate clients.

Intesa Sanpaolo began in January 2025 by purchasing 11 BTC, for a value of approximately €1 million. Since then, the bank has expanded its crypto-related investments, as shown by the quarterly documents filed with the SEC, the US securities regulator. At the end of March 2026, Intesa’s crypto investments were worth approximately $235 million, mainly in Bitcoin ETFs, meaning listed funds that replicate the price of the crypto asset. In the second quarter, Intesa then cut its position in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF by 93.7% and tripled its position in an Ethereum ETF.

UniCredit and Intesa drive the FTSE MIB

The banking sector is contributing to the annual rise in the FTSE MIB, which stands at +13.45%, ranking among the best-performing European stock markets ahead of the Dax and the Euro Stoxx. UniCredit and Intesa are making a substantial contribution to this rise, as can be seen in the overview of the attached charts, with a view from their respective annual lows recorded in April this year.

September is currently slightly negative for both stocks, with Intesa Sanpaolo down 1.82% and UniCredit down 1.55%. Performance since the beginning of 2026 remains positive, however, at +16.40% for UniCredit and +12.40% for Intesa Sanpaolo, and the two stocks are still only slightly below their annual highs.