Recently, the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) published its very first report on the use of virtual currency service providers and digital wallets, from the first quarter of 2023. The OAM is the body that brings together professionals in the field of financial activities and c...
Recently, the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) published its very first report on the use of virtual currency service providers and digital wallets, from the first quarter of 2023. The OAM is the body that brings together professionals in the field of financial activities and credit brokers operating in Italy.
Reportedly, after the new crypto regulation came into force in Italy in January 2023, the OAM got the charge of registering crypto operators operating in the country. The mission of the agency is to protect consumers by guaranteeing the professionalism of companies and overseeing that their work complies with current regulations.
Sources reveal that the registry dedicated to virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and digital wallet services was deliberated by the Ministerial Decree of 13 January 2022, and became operational as early as May 2022.
Now, the crypto firm operating in Italy are mandate to resigter on the VASP register, and collect and transmit information on an ongoing basis regarding the transactions executed. Hence, the crypto operators have to report data on transactions taking place on the Italian territory to the OAM, along with the identifying details of each individual customer.
The OAM’s report on crypto service providers for the first quarter analyzes for the first time the flows sent by VASPs, and provides a detailed picture of the virtual currency market in Italy.
According to the report, number of VASPs that submitted data to the OAM on transactions carried out in the territory was found to be 74, out of 105 registered members, or 70.5% of those registered. Compiling data together, the report states that as of 30 March 2023, it appears that there were more than 690,000 clients in Italy holding cryptocurrencies with one of these crypto intermediaries, with a total value of more than 1 billion Euros.
Notably, this data does not include non-custodial wallets or cryptocurrencies held on intermediaries not registered with the Italian OAM’s VASP register. Additionally, in total, more than 1.1 million clients were found to be trading on OAM-registered crypto platforms, but only 59% still held crypto as of 30 March 2023.
Simultaneously, the average crypto portfolio value was found to be only 1,500 Euros which is a decidedly low figure compared to the frequent large price swings in cryptocurrencies. In total, as many as 1.7 million cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency fiat trades were conducted in the first quarter of 2023, but only 1.5 million crypto-to-crypto.
Despite this, the average number per active client of crypto-to-crypto exchanges was found to be almost 15, while for crypto-to-fiat transactions, or vice versa, it was less than 12. Hence, it is pretty evident that those operating in the crypto markets in Italy are predominantly small or very small investors, or speculators who primarily make transactions in Euros.
However, contrary to this, there is a significantly smaller number of users who primarily make crypto-to-crypto transactions. Notably, the prevalence of retail users has been rising, but even among them it is possible to identify two distinct types, listed as follows:
The first is those who are likely to invest small amounts in fiat currency to buy cryptocurrencies with the goal of holding or selling them in the future to cash out fiat currency again. On the other hand, the second category has is of users who instead do mostly crypto-to-crypto transactions, probably with more purely speculative intentions.
Reportedly, the data in regards suggests that any Italian whales trading in crypto markets do so on other exchanges not registered with the OAM. Now, among such users only 0.12% turn out to be legal entities (i.e., businesses). On the age metric, over 40% of Italian crypto service users turn out to be between 18 and 29 years old.
Further, the report shows data from other EU countries. Reportedly, Poland takes the lead with as many as 768 VASPs registered with the Chamber of Tax Administration in Katowice.
In second place among the countries with the most registered VASP operators is Italy itself, with 114 registered with the OAM. After Italy, France follows with 78 and Spain with 74, while Germany stands at low line 7.
Sources reveal that the report also led the search of crypto providers besides those registered with the OAM. Among the 65 subjects analyzed, it turned out that 25% still have an Italian-language website, even though they are not registered with the OAM whereas 5% have social profiles in Italian.
Hence, these are subjects who are not registered with the OAM’s VASP registry, but who also target their crypto services to Italians. They also do not appear to be registered in the VASP Registers of other EU countries.
Notably, the report brings together the picture of growing adoption of crypto assets in Italy by institutional as well as young retail investors. Despite the 26% tax on crypto, there seems to be a significant number of businesses as well as interested investors.
Additionally, keeping the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill in picture which will also be applicable in Italy, the nation and the VASPs are gearing for changes in regulation. Overall, the report shows the increasing crypto market and also the authorities’ commitmment to be vigilant to the industry.
© Todayq News