The European Commission has warned crypto currency users against bitcoins, advising customers to stay away from the virtual currency as they risk losing “entire investments.” The commission becomes the latest of global regulators who have beamed their attention on bitcoin following its massive price rally in 2017. From the start of 2017 when the price of bitcoin was $1000 on average, the virtual currency’s value skyrocketed to historical levels, surging to almost $20,000 by December last year, a mouth watering 1,700 % increase.

The price surge has since made crypto currency an attractive investment as more customers join the industry. With the increased activity in the virtual currency industry, regulators are keen on cracking down on crypto currency related activities, as most view it as volatile and risky.

According to Valdis Dombrovskis, the vice president of European commission, bitcoin is not backed by any guarantees and therefore remains a volatile digital currency. “Bitcoin has been our main focus in recent weeks. The virtual currency comes with clear risks for price versatility, including operational failures, security concerns, market manipulation and the ever increasing risk of loss of investment,” he said.

He further added that bitcoins prices could drop any time without notice. His sentiments come at a time when the digital currency has shed a lot of value within the last two months. According to Coinmarketcap.com, one bitcoin was trading at $11,284 on Thursday from a high of almost $20,000 reported in December. “Investors should realize that digital currencies are not real currencies,” cautioned Dombrovski.

Other regulators have intensified their crack down on the crypto currency market in recent days. These include the South Korean government which intends to start taxing crypto curency exchanges as it seeks to curb the growing market. South Korean authorities have also introduced tough new measures aimed at stifling growth of the industry. Digital currency exchanges with an income of more than $18.7 million last year will pay 22% corporate tax and an additional 2.2 % in local income tax.

Similar tough measures have been witnessed in China, which is banning crypto currency exchanges. In India, commercial banks are closing bank accounts associated with digital currency exchanges.