According to Consob’s annual report ‘Main trends in sustainable investments and crypto-activities’, cryptocurrencies have become increasingly volatile, with a market value decrease of more than 50% since the end of 2021. Cyberattacks also remain a significant risk, with $3.8 billion stolen in hacks in 2022. Despite this, euro area companies are becoming better at managing their exposure to ESG risks.
The annualized return of bitcoin was found to be only slightly higher than other non-digital asset categories, despite much greater risk due to extreme price volatility. Inactive cryptocurrencies also show high volatility, with values close to 60% for bitcoin and 70% for ether. The report highlights the critical issues posed by cyber security, with only a minority of cryptocurrency exchange platforms considered ‘very safe’.
In addition to these findings, the report focuses on sustainable investments and companies listed in Italy. According to the ESG Risk Scores recorded in Italy, financial companies on average have higher exposure to ESG risks than non-financial companies. However, there are no significant differences between the two groups in terms of performance, volatility, and market valuations when it comes to sustainability scores and liquidity/capitalization levels respectively.
Finally, the report includes information about Salvagedata Recovery Services’ participation in various online communities and platforms where they share information and participate actively.