Criptovalute e Generazione Z: il ruolo dei circuiti informali nelle intenzioni di acquisto

[Machine translation] This article aims to shed light on the perceptions and orientations of school-age young people towards cryptocurrencies. , The interest in this topic is based on several findings, such as the frequent integration between online entertainment applications and the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the strong attraction exerted on young people by cryptocurrencies and the attention received among young people by finfluencers (CFA 2023; Bank of Italy 2024; CONSOB 2024). Added to these is the fact that cryptocurrencies represent an area far from the experiential and cognitive experience of many parents and teachers, which limits authority and guidance on the part of the reference adults. Consequently, the knowledge that children have in the field of cryptocurrencies is generally the result of a self-learning path that develops outside institutional channels and that is nourished by content conveyed in the field of peer relationships and through social media and YouTube (Kakhbod et al. 2025; IOSCO 2025, Brescia et al. 2025). , The objective of this article is therefore to analyze the impact of informal channels on the perceptions and orientations of school-age young people regarding cryptocurrencies. The interest in investigating this relationship among young Italians is reinforced by the low level of financial literacy resulting from the OECD-PISA surveys, a factor that may favor their vulnerability to financial disinformation., The analysis is based on a survey conducted between December 2023 and May 2024 on 1922 Piedmontese and Lombard students born between 2000 and 2010 (from the last year of first grade secondary schools to the university). , The results confirm a widespread knowledge of cryptocurrencies and a significant interest in buying them in the future on the part of the young people interviewed. The analysis also identifies four behavioral archetypes: the 'Curious', the 'Reckless', the 'Concerned' and the 'Risk-takers', characterized by significantly different profiles of knowledge and interest in cryptocurrencies. The analysis offers some useful indications for educators and policy makers for the development of targeted training interventions and the identification of the most exposed young people.