Buy Bitcoin in Italy
By: Eliot Prince | Last updated: 10/19/20
Looking for ways to buy Bitcoin in Italy? This guide covers all the information on Bitcoin’s status in Italy and the best Bitcoin exchanges that cater to Italian customers.
How To Buy Bitcoin in Italy Summary
To buy Bitcoin in Italy you can either go to a Bitcoin ATM or follow the instructions below:
- Get your Bitcoin wallet
- Go to Coinmama
- Choose the amount of Bitcoin you wish to buy
- Enter your payment information and Bitcoin address
If Coinmama doesn’t work out for you here are a few additional options:
That’s how to buy Bitcoin in Italy in a nutshell. For an in-depth review, continue reading, here’s what I’ll cover:
- Bitcoin Legal Status in Italy
- Bitcoin Popularity in Italy
- Bitcoin Communities in Italy
- Buy Bitcoin through Italian Exchanges
- Buy Bitcoin through International Exchanges
- Bitcoin ATMs in Italy
- Conclusion
1. Is Bitcoin legal in Italy?
Italy is still developing its cryptocurrency legislation to protect investors and is vague in the classification of Bitcoin. So while Bitcoin is legal in Italy, there’s no government regulation for private individual Bitcoin usage. As a result, Citizens should look at wider European policy for better understanding:
In 2016, the European Court of Justice ruled that the exchange of cryptocurrency assets with fiat currency was not liable to value-added tax (VAT). However, profit and loss should be levied by corporate tax.
Citizens are free to use and trade Bitcoin, while companies are left treading water without clear licensing and control. Businesses must be careful in how they operate, as seen with Avacrypto who were banned in 2018 after an Italian crypto crackdown.
2. How popular is Bitcoin in Italy?
The chart below shows weekly trading volumes in Europe on LocalBitcoins. Trading volumes correlate with wider global Bitcoin markets and valuations. Since the 2018 market correction, Bitcoin generally holds a €2 million weekly trading volume before growing to €4 million in June 2019 when its value roared through €10,000 per coin.
The Google Trends chart below shows the interest in Bitcoin for Italy. Bitcoin interest mirrors the data shown by the trading volumes above. It depresses well below the 50 line in early 2019 before peaking to 100 in June.
3. Main Italian Bitcoin communities
As can be seen, there’s a decent selection of Bitcoin-based online communities in Italy. You’ll find plenty of advice, industry news and light-hearted chat to stay ahead of the game when it comes to cryptocurrency. Here is a selection for you to check out:
4. Italian Bitcoin exchanges
At the time of writing there are no active Italian based exchanges. It may be better for you to use wider European exchanges such as Coinhouse.
5. International exchanges available in Italy
International exchanges offer added options to Italian customers with many supporting Euros and helpful deposit methods. Here is a top selection available to you:
Coinmama
Coinmama may be based in Israel, but it’s available in a huge number of countries, including Italy. It was launched in 2013, and it offers convenience: you can buy Bitcoin with a debit or credit card.
The downside is that the fees are on the high side at 5.5% per transaction and 5% per credit or debit card transaction. You can read my full review of Coinmama here.
CEX.IO
CEX.IO is available in most countries around the world. Founded in 2013 with its headquarters in London, this cryptocurrency exchange allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin as well as a selection of altcoins.
Both credit cards and SEPA bank transfers are accepted payment methods, with low fees of 0%–0.2% on trades. CEX.IO offers both a trading platform and a brokerage service, both entail different fees. You can read my full CEX.io review here.
bitFlyer
bitFlyer is an international cryptocurrency exchange available for users from Italy. It is based in Tokyo, Japan and was founded in 2014, by former Goldman Sachs trader Yuzo Kano. bitFlyer is regulated across Japan, the United States and Europe.
bitFlyer offers a small range of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, BCH, ETC, LTC, MONA and LSK. Regular Bitcoin buys and sells are free, but subject to bitFlyer’s exchange rate + entail a 0.0004BTC withdrawal fee. The exchange facilitates EUR deposits and withdrawals via SEPA payments, also recently introduced PayPal deposit option. The deposits are free while withdrawals costing €10.00 for amounts less than €250,000.
Trading on their “Lightning” exchange costs 0.01% to 0.20%, depending on your trading volume. You can read my full review of bitFlyer here.
Coinhouse
Coinhouse aims to make cryptocurrency investments easy for first-time buyers. Operating since 2014, the exchange is based in Paris and affiliated to Ledger – the popular hardware wallet provider. Coinhouse offers customers both an online platform and a bricks and mortar location.
It has provided over 200,000 EU customers with easy access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP and Bitcoin Cash. The platform is a broker service, which removes the technical complexities of buying Bitcoin. Moreover, it even offers a personal investment service to its customers. You can read my full Coinhouse review here.
Paxful
Paxful is a P2P marketplace, which allows buyers and sellers to meet online and trade Bitcoin directly with each other. Founded in 2015, by now they have offices in multiple cities around the world.
Sellers on Paxful accept over 300 payment methods, including SEPA bank transfers, Visa, MasterCard and PayPal. If you’re buying Bitcoins on Paxful, you won’t have to pay any fee to the site itself, but the price of Bitcoin is traded at a premium because of this. You can read my full Paxful Review here.
Changelly
Changelly is a crypto-only exchange, founded in 2015. Signing up for an account doesn’t require any personal information, and you’ll then have a quick and easy way of exchanging cryptocurrency from one wallet to another.
There’s a fixed fee of 0.5%, which is slightly higher than many other Bitcoin exchanges. You can read my full Changelly review here.
6. How many Bitcoin ATMs are there in Italy?
As of 2019ֿ, there are 56 Bitcoin ATMs in Italy, according to CoinATMRadar. Milan and Rome are particular hotspots for Bitcoin ATMs in Italy.
7. Conclusion
Although Bitcoin seems to be perfectly legal to use in Italy, it feels like the country is lagging behind other major European countries. The lack of clear regulation makes it tricky for cryptocurrency operations to develop. This becomes apparent when looking for reputable, active Italian Bitcoin exchanges.
Regulation in Italy and Europe is developing and is likely to improve the situation. A few new startups look very promising in giving Italy homegrown cryptocurrency exchanges. Thankfully, Europe is home to a large selection of Bitcoin platforms providing extensive choice to buy Bitcoin in Italy.
Know of any change in Bitcoin’s legal status in Italy? Do you have experience with the exchanges I’ve mentioned above? If yes, let me know in the comment section below.
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