A treatment centre for “crypto addicts” is opening in the Scottish Borders, in Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire. Since the institution already runs treatment programmes for drug and alcohol addiction, it hopes to treat people addicted to trading cryptocurrencies with techniques developed for gambling addicts, the hospital announced.
Apparently, cryptocurrency trading addicts show the same signs as problem gamblers: “The high risk, fluctuating cryptocurrency market appeals to the problem gambler. It provides excitement and an escape from reality. Bitcoin, for example, has been heavily traded and huge gains and losses were made,” said Chris Burn, a gambling therapist at the hospital.
One of the therapists will be Tony Marini, introduced as a former gambling and cocaine addict, and in his opinion, addicts need life structure: “Having been through it myself, my experience of addiction gives me insight and empathy towards others who have the same problem.”
“I see cryptocurrency trading as a way for people to escape from themselves, into another world, because they don't like the world they're in,” Marini says, adding, “The first stage of treatment is to join other addicts in group therapy and share their life stories. This helps them identify with each other and realise that they're not alone.”
Mark Griffiths, a chartered psychologist and professor of Gambling studies at the Nottingham Trent University, in a recent post on his blog stated that it is not a new addiction but a sub-type of online day-trading addiction and/or stock market trading addiction.
"Given that addictions rely on constant rewards and reinforcement, there is no theoretical reason why crypto trading cannot be addictive. However, there is only anecdotal evidence of addicted individuals and if they are addicted a case could be made that this is a type of gambling addiction," according to Griffiths.