UniCredit Shakes Up Italy’s Crypto Market: BlackRock-Backed Bitcoin ETF Now Live

Milano gets a crypto adrenaline shot as UniCredit rolls out the red carpet for BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF.

Finally—traditional finance plays nice with crypto. Italy's banking giant UniCredit just dropped a Bitcoin investment certificate tied to BlackRock's spot ETF. No more side-eyes from legacy institutions.

Why it matters: Mainstream adoption isn't coming—it's here. Italian investors can now ride Bitcoin's volatility without self-custody headaches. Thanks, BlackRock (and your 0.25% management fee).

Bonus jab: Wall Street still charges you 20x what a hardware wallet costs—but hey, at least they'll send a monthly statement.

• UniCredit now offers a Bitcoin ETF certificate with 100% capital protection.
• Returns are also capped at 85% of iShares Bitcoin ETF returns.
• Italian professional investors’ availability from July 1 to 28.

Bitcoin takes center stage in UniCredit SpA’s latest investment move. Italy’s second-largest bank has introduced a structured certificate linked to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), marking a strategic shift toward digital asset integration.

UniCredit’s new five-year dollar-denominated certificate is being launched to professional clients in Italy in a narrow subscription window from July 1 to July 28. To satisfy expanding institutional demand for crypto exposure with managed risk, UniCredit places itself at the forefront of bank innovation in Europe.

The news comes against a background of fast-paced institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies being spearheaded by investment heavyweights such as BlackRock, whose iShares BTC Trust has rapidly accumulated $75 billion in assets since making its debut this year in the United States.

Bitcoin-Linked Certificate Offers Full Capital Protection

The newly launched certificate seeks to minimize the likelihood of losses while still maintaining the potential for modest returns. Until maturity, it also secures full capital protection with the initial principal remaining intact regardless of how BTC goes in the market.

Payback for this certificate is nonetheless capped at a maximum of 85% of the underlying ETF’s outcomes over the five-year tenor. The certificate has a minimum purchase of $25,000 with an emphasis that it’s for high-end sophisticated investors only.

The year-to-date appreciation of BTC of 14% stands in stark contrast to the decline of many altcoins, reaffirming in turn the growing perception of BTC as a comparatively stable digital-asset class.

UniCredit Launches Italy’s First Bitcoin Certificate

UniCredit’s offering is part of a broader trend among Europe’s biggest banks to consider digital asset opportunities. Italian bank competitor Intesa Sanpaolo has reportedly initiated spot BTC purchases this year and has, in turn, created its own trading capability.

Spanish bank competitor Banco Santander has reportedly explored new crypto products alongside a planned stablecoin and expanded retail crypto availability.

With this announcement, UniCredit is now the first Italian bank to make available a structured investment product that directly tracks a US-licensed bitcoin ETF. This could unlock wider institutional investment in cryptoassets under the regulatory environment of conventional finance.