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The price of digital currency Bitcoin fell 21% in a period of wild trading after passing a record $11,000, but later recovered some of the fall.
Bitcoin is holding around the $10,000 mark it broke for the first time on Wednesday, but is down from the record $11,434 (£8,500) it hit in US trade.
Overnight the currency slipped to $9,009 before regaining ground.
On Wednesday, a Bank of England deputy governor warned “investors should do their homework” on Bitcoin.
Unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin is not issued by a central bank or government.
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At its peak, Bitcoin had increased by 1,000% from the $1,000 value at which it started the year.
The digital currency – which works like virtual tokens – has fluctuated wildly since it was launched in 2009.
Critics have said it is going through a bubble similar to the dotcom boom, whereas others say it is rising in price because it is crossing into the financial mainstream.
Sir Jon Cunliffe, the Bank’s deputy governor for financial stability, told the BBC on Wednesday: “People need to be clear this is not an official currency. No central bank stands behind it, no government stands behind it.”
He said it was “closer to a commodity” than a currency, with people choosing to invest and trade in it.
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Sir Jon says investors should “do their homework” about Bitcoin
Bitcoins are created through a complex process known as mining, and then monitored by a network of computers across the world.
A steady stream of about 3,600 new Bitcoins are created a day – with about 16.5 million now in circulation from a maximum limit of 21 million.
Despite its price rise, Sir Jon said Bitcoin was “not of a size that would be a threat to financial stability” or a risk to the UK economy.
Financial regulators have taken a range of views on the status of digital currencies and their risks.
US regulators have moved towards treating some of them as currencies, whereas Korean regulators see them as commodities.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority warned investors in September they could lose all their money if they buy digital currencies issued by firms, known as “initial coin offerings”.
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