Interview with Matteo De Angelis, Country Manager Italy of YouHodler

Obviously, The Cryptonomist could not miss the Blockchain Week Rome, held at the Palazzo dei Congressi on May 9 and 10. Among the prominent figures, we had the pleasure of having a nice chat with Matteo De Angelis, Country Manager Italy of the exchange YouHodler. 

Started alone to lead the growth of YouHodler in Italy, aiming for a European license, going through crypto loans, partnership with Torino Calcio, and incredible features connected to non-custodial wallets. Let’s discover everything with Matteo De Angelis, who tells us why YouHodler is strongly focusing on Italy!

Hello Matteo! Let’s start strong right away: who is Matteo De Angelis and what does he do at YouHodler?

Hello Eliano! I am the Country Manager of YouHodler for Italy. I joined three years ago as the first Italian in the team, a time when the translations on the site were not even correct, almost at the dawn of the project we can say. Today we are five, with well-defined roles: influencer marketing, growth, social, communication. In short, we have structured ourselves and have grown a lot.

And how are you managing this expansion in Italy?

“In Italy we believe in it a lot.” We have renewed the official partnership with Torino Calcio and we are investing in the long term. But the big bet is the MiCAR license. As everyone knows by now, under this regulation, companies providing services related to cryptocurrencies and wanting to continue operating in Europe and, in our case, in Italy, must obtain a specific CASP license. “if we obtain it among the first, it could be a huge competitive advantage.” Even today we are super compliant: we have had mandatory KYC for years, we have delisted USDT, we are registered in Italy, with Italian headquarters and employees. “In short, while others struggle, we are already ready!”

So do you see MiCA more as an opportunity than as a brake?

I’ll tell you: on one hand, it’s a tremendous opportunity if you arrive first, on the other hand, it’s also quite a challenge rather than a hindrance. The MiCAR undoubtedly represents an important step towards the integration of crypto-assets into the traditional economy, providing a solid regulatory framework for their use. The challenge lies in not “bureaucratizing” and excessively complicating this new economy, thus not distorting the original ideology of Satoshi Nakamoto, who must have invented Bitcoin for a reason, right?

Soon, as we know, it will be time to pay taxes on any capital gains recorded last year. Have you considered a service for managing taxes on crypto?

Not yet directly. Honestly, it is not yet a product so highly requested by our users, so for the moment we prefer to focus strongly on other things. Obviously, however, we are already in contact with several partners: “our CSVs are already compatible with platforms like MoneyViz and Okipo.” Just contact our support and request the CSV with all the transactions. After that, it will only be necessary to upload the file to one of these platforms and you’re done! 

Regarding compliance, as you mentioned earlier, you also delisted USDT. Not a minor decision.

Yes, but for us it was rather painless. We don’t have an order book like Binance, so the use of USDT was already marginal. Users still ask us “why can’t I use USDT on Earn anymore?”, but we calmly reply: there’s USDC. “And it starts from a 2% yield, reaching up to 20% based on the level in the loyalty program.”

Let’s talk specifically about your Earn program. How does it work?

It’s simple: “you register, make a deposit of any cryptocurrency and automatically start earning.” The program has 9 levels, from “Newbie” to “VIP”, and you level up the more you use the platform. No lock-in, no obligation to buy tokens or tie up funds. “And you can also use Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal to start with just ten euros. The keyword? Accessibility.”

Besides Earn, what are your strongest products?

Certainly the Crypto Loans. “You deposit your crypto (any crypto!) and get euros, francs, pounds, etc.” Unlike lending platforms in DeFi, which tend to be more conservative for obvious security reasons, we offer up to 97% loan-to-value and with competitive APRs on the market. “And you don’t sell your assets, you just use them as collateral.” We can do this because in Switzerland we have obtained the license as a regulated financial intermediary. Other CEXs, however, for this reason cannot issue loans directly in fiat currency.

This is really fantastic, but I feel that you are still hiding something from me…

Indeed! Here comes the latest innovation: Wallet Integration. “Connect your non-custodial wallet (MetaMask, Trust Wallet, OKX, etc.) directly to YouHodler. No more copying and pasting addresses, no more ‘oh no, I sent it to the wrong wallet’ anxiety.” Click, authorize, send. Simple and secure.

I knew you still had an ace up your sleeve. Let’s conclude with the hottest topic of the moment: AI. Have you already integrated something or do you plan to do so?

Ah, I knew that sooner or later the question about AI would come up! We are working on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into our Crypto Bundles. This project marks the beginning of a new phase for YouHodler. To date, the bundles are thematic packages that allow users to purchase a selection of cryptocurrencies with one click, for example, the top five by market capitalization: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Solana (SOL), and XRP. It is a simple way to gain exposure to the market without having to buy each individual asset manually.

So far, so good. But the real step forward will be step 2: the introduction of AI for automatic rebalancing. In simple words, the user chooses a bundle and, instead of remaining static over time, the portfolio will be periodically rebalanced based on strategies created by professionals and optimized through intelligent algorithms. It’s not just a cool feature: it’s a huge advantage for those who want to invest but don’t have the time (or experience) to follow every bull and bear market movement.

For now, the rebalancing is managed manually by our dealing team, which monitors the market trend in real-time. With AI, this process will become automatic, precise, and calibrated on predefined parameters. We are also considering the introduction of recurring purchases, with the possibility of setting up periodic plans that leverage these smart bundles. In short, it will be like having a small personal asset manager always active!

Obviously, even in this case, attention to regulatory and compliance aspects is always on point! 

Thank you very much Matteo, it was a pleasure, and good luck to the entire YouHodler team for the future!

Thank you, Eliano, see you next time!