Cryptocurrency investors could ‘lose all their money’, UK regulator warns as Bitcoin price drops from all-time high

Cryptocurrency investors could ‘lose all their money’, UK regulator warns as Bitcoin price drops from all-time high

Bitcoin has surged more than 300% in just a year, hitting a new all-time high on Friday before slipping back

Dado Ruvic/Reuters

Consumers could 'lose all their money' if they invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the UK's financial watchdog has warned.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of almost $42,000 on Friday, but has since fallen sharply to around $35,000.

Regulators are increasingly concerned about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and have increased their attention to digital assets.

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Consumers who invest in cryptocurrencies could well "lose all their money", the UK's financial regulator has warned, as the volatile Bitcoin price slides back from an all-time high of almost $42,000.

Bitcoin's startling rise of more than 300% over the last year has captured the attention of the public and institutional investors alike. But the cryptocurrency is highly volatile, and dropped around 15% from a record-high of around $41,800 on Friday to $34,645 on Monday.

The mania for cryptocurrencies has also attracted the watchful eyes of financial regulators across the world. They worry that amateur investors could be sucked in, only for currencies like Bitcoin to collapse in value, as they did in 2018.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) put it starkly: "If consumers