Italian banks push Web3 in 2025: digital bonds, MiCA and new risks

In 2025, Italian banks and public financial institutions accelerated their involvement with blockchain, tokenization and crypto. Projects that were once experimental are becoming central to Italy's financial sector, but not without significant risks.

The key moves of the institutions

In January 2025, Intesa Sanpaolo completed its first proprietary transaction in Bitcoin, worth €1 million (11 BTC). The move followed the creation of a trading desk for digital assets in 2023 and marks a turning point in mainstream adoption.

In July 2024, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) issued Italy's first digital bond on blockchain, worth €25m and fully subscribed by Intesa. The bond was settled in central bank money via the Bank of Italy's TIPS Hash-Link system, as part of an ECB trial of DLT-based payments.

In the summer of 2025, Banca Sella launched a pilot project of stablecoin custody with Fireblocks. The initiative is currently limited to employees, but signals that Italian banks are positioning themselves to offer MiCA-compliant custody services.

Other players are also moving. Mediobanca is experimenting with tokenized fund shares in collaboration with Cetif Advisory. Meanwhile, the Bank of Italy's Milan Hub has been supporting Institutional DeFi and instant payments projects with Polygon, Cetif and Fireblocks.

MiCA and Stablecoin

The European regulation on crypto markets, MiCA, came into force in 2024, with Italian authorities giving companies until 30 June 2025 or 30 December 2025 to apply for authorisation. Some crypto service providers (CASPs) benefit from an extension until July 2026.

The regulatory squeeze has already reshaped markets. In March 2025, Binance delisted nine stablecoins, including USDT and DAI, across the European Economic Area to comply with MiCA. Even ESMA has warned that non-compliant stablecoins can no longer be offered in Europe after that deadline.

This paves the way for banks to provide regulated custody and issuance services for MiCA-compliant stablecoins, potentially turning pilots such as Banca Sella's into mainstream services.

Risks for incumbents

Bank of Italy governor Fabio Panetta warned that crypto-related losses could undermine confidence in banks. If customers believe that crypto products are guaranteed by institutions, when they are not, the reputational consequences could be severe.

Financial risks are increasing. Under the new European banking rules, CRR3, exposures to unsecured cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have a risk factor of 1,250%, making them expensive to hold on the balance sheet. The European Banking Authority confirmed this approach in its August 2025 RTS.

On an operational level, the BoI urged institutions to strengthen IT resilience and cyber risk management. The Unità di Informazione Finanziaria (FIU) also flagged an increase in the use of crypto and virtual IBANs in fraud and money laundering schemes, underlining AML compliance risks.

What to observe in the next months

• More and more tokenized bonds and commercial paper will move from the pilot phase to regular issuance.
• European revision of the DLT Pilot Regime could extend Italy's competitive advantage as a sandbox.
• Market changes related to the restructuring of Italian payments giant Nexi.
• The results of the Milano Hub's instant payments programme, which could come into production in 2026.

Conclusion

Italy is rapidly building a regulated digital finance ecosystem: digital bonds (CDP, Intesa), stablecoin custody (Banca Sella), tokenized funds (Mediobanca) and institutional DeFi experiments (Milano Hub).

2025 is the year when banks are no longer just testing the ground: they are committing capital and reputation under MiCA and CRR3. The challenge is clear: reaping the benefits of tokenization and blockchain while safeguarding public trust and managing risk.