According to the latest data from OAM (Organismo agenti e mediatori), crypto investors in Italy have lost a total of 32% of their portfolio value in the third quarter of 2023, while Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptographic tokens recorded the only months of negative market performance throughout the year.
These data concern an audience of 1,111,681 subjects, who held a declared value in crypto of 911.76 million euros as of September 30, 2023.
Of these, the majority are represented by individuals aged between 18 and 29, although the majority of cryptocurrencies are owned by adults over 40 years old.
Given the latest price updates for the digital currency market, it is correct to think that the OAM will track a significant increase in the portfolio of Italians when it releases information on the fourth quarter.
Below are all the details.
Summary
Crypto wallet holders in Italy record negative trends in the third quarter of 2023 according to OAM
Today, the OAM, or the Agents and Mediators Organization in Italy, has published the latest data regarding the situation of the portfolio of crypto investors in the country during the third quarter of the year.
At first glance, what stands out the most is the 32% decrease in the value held in Italian wallets compared to the previous quarter.
As of September 30, 2023, the OAM quantifies a cryptocurrency equivalent of 911.76 million euros, with an average of 820 euros per person, taking into account only the operations of customers communicated by VASPs (virtual asset service providers) to the special register maintained by the organization.
It is estimated that only 75% of users, namely 1,111,681 out of a total of 1,476,901 subjects) on which data related to cryptocurrency operations have been identified, have declared to hold cryptographic coins in their wallet.
If we had information about the missing 25%, we could have completely different data.
Anyway, the depreciation of the value held by crypto holders in Italy, reported by the OAM, is not surprising considering that July, August, and September 2023 were three bearish months in the crypto sector.
To tell the truth, it was practically the only negative quarter of the year, in which Bitcoin and the altcoin market performed in the red compared to the euro.
In particular, BTC in the third quarter saw a price decrease of almost 20%, calculated from the July peak to the September low.
Instead, cryptocurrencies like ETH, ADA, MATIC, SHIB, and many others have lost much more than BTC.
This means that the portfolio of Italians has failed to beat the benchmark (bitcoin) and is certainly exposed to a significant portion in altcoins that have had a disappointing price action during that period.
Among the other interesting aspects to mention in the analysis of OAM, we find increasing numbers both in terms of the number of users holding crypto in Italy and the number of clients reported by various VASPs.
In particular, the number of investors recognized by the OAM has increased by 1% compared to the third quarter, while VASP clients have grown by 2%.
The number of conversion operations from legal currency to virtual currency is increasing by 17% compared to Q2 data, while on the opposite side, for those conversion operations from crypto to legal currency, we see a rise of only 2%.
In total, conversions to crypto have been higher than those to FIAT by over 147 million euros: this means that Italians have purchased more crypto than they have withdrawn.
Photograph of the registry on the age of Italian crypto investors
The OAM, in addition to the information just described, has provided us with a snapshot of the age of crypto investors in Italy, which, for a significant number, concerns very young individuals.
In detail, about 38% of the customers indicated by VASP, which is the majority share, are between 18 and 29 years old.
This data is not surprising, as cryptocurrencies were born under a libertarian and non-conformist ideology, which is more supported by younger Italian citizens as they find themselves suffering from the economic situation of the Country greatly aggravated by corruption and the dirty tricks carried out in previous years by the over 50 ruling class.
Millennials find in cryptocurrencies values they can philosophically identify with, such as honesty, transparency, and freedom of choice.
However, even crypto investors aged between 30 and 39 reach a good number in the country, accounting for 28% of the total data sent by VASPs.
For people over sixty, unable to handle and use such a disruptive and complex technology like blockchain, the numbers drop to 1%.
However, it is not the young people who have the most influence on the amount of euros invested in Italy, as they likely have less economic power compared to adults. Instead, it is the individuals between the ages of 40 and 60 who make up 49% of the total euro value of virtual currencies.
This also represents 53.5% of the total balance of legal currencies and 55.5% of the value of conversions from virtual currency to legal currency.
It is very interesting to observe the geographical distribution of crypto investors, who mostly reside in the north. Italians who invest in cryptocurrencies abroad, on the other hand, are more numerous compared to those who do so in the south of the country.
Finally, the data for the third quarter provided by OAM also deliver a concentrated market structure of exchanges: about 91% of customers operate on large exchanges, 8.8% on medium exchanges, and 0.2% on small exchanges.
The majority of balances of legal currencies and digital currencies are held at large exchanges.
In addition, 81.2% of the number of conversions from legal currency to virtual currency and 79.9% of conversions from virtual currency to legal currency are carried out within the territory of the Republic through the services offered by the 9 largest VASPs.
