( CNN ) -- Bitcoin is still in beta , and users should only invest what they can afford to lose , Bitcoin Foundation executive director Jon Matonis says . `` It 's still experimental , even though it 's five years old and very successful , it still is considered experimental , '' Matonis told CNN 's Jim Boulden at the world 's biggest mobile tech trade show in Barcelona . `` I do n't think that people should treat it as non-experimental . You should only invest in trade what you can afford to lose , '' he said . Matonis ' comments to CNN at Mobile World Congress come just days after Mt . Gox , one of the world 's largest Bitcoin exchanges , was taken offline , putting millions of dollars of investors ' money at risk and shaking confidence in the digital currency . On Friday , Mt . Gox filed for bankruptcy protection at a Tokyo court on Friday with debts of 6.5 billion yen ( $ 64 million ) , Japanese media reported . Matonis , speaking before Mt . Gox 's bankruptcy filing , told CNN the melt-down represented the opposite of `` too big to fail capitalism '' because it was not bailed out . `` If this had been a traditional financial institution , the losses would probably be papered over with tax payer money . We did n't see that in this case , '' he said . Mt . Gox has been mired in problems since February 7 , when it halted withdrawals from its accounts . The company 's computer programmers had n't accounted for a quirk in the way Bitcoin works , allowing cyber attackers to dupe Mt.Gox with a scheme resembling receipt fraud . When Mt . Gox discovered it was under attack , it stopped any investors from pulling their money out of their trading platform . Mt . Gox CEO Mark Karpeles resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation 's board of directors on Sunday . Matonis remained bullish about Bitcoin 's future , telling CNN the currency was `` massively resilient . '' Further , he said , `` the exchanges that are still in existence and operating will tend to be stronger because of this . '' Matonis said the currency would move out of beta in the next few years . `` I would say in about three to five years we 'll start seeing user-friendly apps which really will complete the transition to mainstream . It should be as easy to download and use Bitcoin apps as it is to download something like Skype , '' he said . The currency has fluctuated wildly in value since its inception in 2009 , shooting to $ 1,000 in December as investors began leaping into the currency . It is now around $ 545 . Some traditional businesses , including online retailer Overstock.com , some Subway sandwich shops and Richard Branson 's Virgin Galactic , have begun accepting Bitcoin . But the anonymous nature of the currency also has linked it with less reputable outlets . Bitcoin and other digital `` cryptocurrencies '' have been the de facto payment system on underground websites that deal in drugs , weapons and other illegal merchandise . Read more : Bitcoin ATMs coming to a corner near you .
Bitcoin 's executive director Jon Matonis tells Mobile World Congress people should only invest what they can lose . His comments come after the meltdown of Bitcoin , one of the biggest Bitcoin exchanges . Bitcoin says Bitcoin is still considered experimental , even though it 's very successful . Since its inception in Friday , Bitcoin has fluctuated wildly in value .