The president of the ECB, Mario Draghi launches a warning for bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that is making the world talk because of the crazy fluctuations and related speculations.
Today, a member of the Bank of Italy, Salvatore Rossi, also intervenes on the subject, calling them "speculative contraptions". And from Iceland comes a curious alarm: if the use of bitcoin increases exponentially, the homes of the 340.000 inhabitants of the island could remain in the dark. ”The value of bitcoin, reports Draghi, fluctuates quickly and without credible criteria. I would not define bitcoin as a currency for this reason, but also because the euro is supported by the ECB, the dollar by the Fed, the coins are backed by central banks ". 
Today on the Bitstamp platform, bitcoin travels in the area of $ 8.650, but the most famous cryptocurrency in the world is often subject to incredible shocks. By mid-December its value had flown up to $ 20, doubling in about a week, and then collapsing by 30% in a single day, sending 121 billion dollars of global capitalization up in smoke. Attention, says Draghi: "It is not the responsibility of the ECB to block it". Bank of Italy argues that bitcoin exchanges should be controlled internationally, if not banned. For Rossi, general manager of via Nazionale, cryptocurrencies "resemble UFOs" and "unfortunately there is no world authority capable of blocking bitcoin and today it would take an agreement between all countries, no one excluded, otherwise it would be ineffective “In Iceland, meanwhile, bitcoins bring far more serious concerns. Johann Snorri Sigurbergsson, spokesman for the Icelandic energy company HS Orka, tells the BBC that the use of energy to exchange bitcoins in Iceland is destined to exceed household consumption. According to the spokesperson, Iceland is facing an "exponential" increase in the use of bitcoin that is devouring energy resources and, this year, electricity consumption in bitcoin data centers will likely exceed that of all Icelandic homes. "If all the projects were done, we wouldn't have enough power," says Sigurbergsson, who estimates that bitcoin operations will use around 840 gigawatt hours of electricity for computers and data center cooling systems, while the island's homes use around 700 gigawatt hours per year. But the cryptocurrency trend doesn't seem to stop. In the UK, specialist cryptocurrency companies will create a self-regulating association. CryptoUk will have seven members, including the Coinbase and eToro trading platforms, and several virtual currency asset managers. “We are aware of the cases of dishonest traders. This is why CryptoUk was established, to promote best practices and work with government and regulators, ”said the president, Iqbal V Gandham, head of the eToro platform.