The Bank of England has said that Bitcoin could be "worthless" and that people investing in digital currency should be prepared to lose everything.

In a warning about potential risks to investors, the central bank asked if the digital currency had any natural value, which this year has risen in value to approximately $ 50,000 a piece.

The cryptocurrency peaked above $ 67,000 in early November, but suffered a loss after news broke for the first time about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, before stabilizing last week.

The deputy governor, Sir Jon Cunliffe, said the Bank should be prepared for the risks associated with growing the crypto asset, following its rapidly growing popularity.

"Their price can change quite significantly and [bitcoin] could theoretically or practically fall to zero," he told the

.

The capital of the crypto asset market has increased tenfold since the beginning of 2020 to about $ 2.6 trillion, representing about 1 percent of global financial assets.

About 0.1% of household wealth in the UK is in Bitcoin and similar crypto assets, such as ethereum and Binance coins.

About 2.3 million people hold crypto assets, where each has an average amount of around 400 euros.