Italian bank chief sounds Bitcoin alarm (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, December 5 - Giovanni Sabatini, the director general of Italian Banking Association ABI, on Tuesday sounded the alarm about the growth of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, saying there was the risk of it being a "bubble". "The value of this instrument can drop or increase by 20% to 30% from one day to another," Sabatini told the Lower House's finance committee. "It is the new gold of the virtual world, a totally opaque and unregulated market," he added, voicing concern about the issues of money laundering and terrorism funding.