The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an investor alert today warning about the risks of investing in bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
According to The Verge, this is SEC's second cryptocurrency-related alert. The first was issued last summer after the agency prosecuted a man for running a pyramid scheme in the virtual currency.
Meanwhile, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued a similar alert, while the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) added virtual currencies to its list of top 10 investor threats for 2013.
The agency said that potential investors can be easily enticed with the promise of high returns in a new investment space and also may be less skeptical when assessing something novel, new and cutting-edge.