From Bitcoin to Etherium, Italians' crypto-wealth drops to 1.23 billion
The amount of cryptocurrencies held in the portfolios of Italians drops precipitously. Toward the end of June 2023, the figure stood at 1.23 billion, down from 1.35 billion in the first three months of the year. This is when it emerges from the Oam report for the second quarter of 2023 on customer transactions reported by Vasps (virtual asset service providers) registered in the special register kept by the body. These are 895,291 individuals, almost all of them natural persons, with an average portfolio of 1,377.41 euros, keep in mind that the average salary in Italy is 1,600 euros, with a decrease in the South, for a ral of 27,000 euros. Overall, the OAM received identification and cryptocurrency trading data of 1,235,103 clients, but of these only 72 percent (895,291, precisely) held cryptocurrencies in their portfolios as of June 30, 2023.
The quarter-on-quarter change:
Compared with the data for January, February and March, restated in light of adjustments and additions made by operators, both the euro countervalue of the balance of virtual currencies held and the number of clients are down, by 8% (1.23 billion versus 1.35 billion) and 15% (895,291 versus the previous 1,056,784), respectively. On the other hand, both the number of registered Vasp (up 8.5 percent, from 105 to 114) and the percentage that transmitted data (up 3 percent, from 91 to 94) were up.
Who invests in cryptocurrencies:
Those who invest the most in cryptocurrencies are the over-40s: both the total balances of legal and virtual currencies and the countervalue of transactions converting legal currencies to virtual currencies and vice versa take on significant percentages especially for individuals over 40 and up to 60 years of age. That is, the age group that includes workers already established in the market and with a solid economic base behind them. This age group holds 52.9% of the total balance of legal currencies and 48.8 percent relative to the euro equivalent of the total balance of virtual currencies. The percentages drop, however, for those over 60, who are certainly not very attracted to a world they do not understand as much. Good activism is found among millennials, with nearly half of the number of virtual to legal currency conversion transactions, and vice versa, being carried out by clients under 40.
A still concentrated market:
The second quarter data confirm a rather concentrated structure of the exchange (cryptocurrency exchange) market, with 89.7%of customers operating with large exchanges, 10.1%on medium-sized operators, and 0.2 percent on smaller exchanges. Through the large operators (a total of 8 out of 94, with more than 50 thousand customers) transits the bulk of the euro countervalue of cryptocurrencies. Specifically, the balances of legal and digital currencies held at large exchanges are 93% and 81% of the total, respectively.
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