Crypto addiction is a growing problem, but how big is it?

More clinics are offering services to help crypto addicts. But how serious is this new problem?

Over the years, society has become increasingly concerned about gambling addiction. Gambling addiction causes irreparable damage to families and communities. However, experts and psychologists have identified a new problem: crypto addiction.

Several clinics have begun offering programs to help patients with this emerging disease. Castle Craig is a Scottish residential rehabilitation clinic founded in 1988 by Dr. Peter and Margaret Ann McCann and has since expanded internationally. In 2016, he became one of the first treatment centers in the world to offer a program to treat addiction to cryptocurrency trading.

“More unstable and exciting than gambling”

Anthony Marini, Senior Specialist Therapist at Castle Craig, believes it’s an under-the-radar problem. , about 5% have problems with cryptocurrencies.”

“It’s more volatile and exciting than gambling,” he says. “More and more people are having problems every year.”

Anthony first saw a case of cryptocurrency addiction in 2016. Since then, Castle Craig has seen more than 250 patients with the problem. Including the notable increase after the collapse of FTX last year.

In many ways, crypto addiction shares many similarities with gambling addiction. (Arguably one is a subset of the other.) Both involve high-risk investments that can lead to significant financial losses. Both provide a rush of adrenaline as their victims go crazy for the elusive big payday.

Crypto addiction: just a symptom of another problem?

Similar to gambling, crypto addiction can also lead to compulsive behavior, making individuals fixate on market trends and take more risky trades. Angie Malltexi, her CSO of Clipper DEX, agrees that this behavior can be detrimental to an individual’s financial, mental, and physical health. I asked where she draws the line. when does it matter?

“I think cryptocurrency trading can be unhealthy, especially if you become so addicted to it that it negatively impacts your daily life, financial security and relationships,” she says. The line that becomes unhealthy varies from person to person, but generally it is when other aspects of a person’s life begin to be adversely affected. “

However, Malltexi makes an interesting, if not controversial, point. Crypto addiction, like any other addiction, is a symptom of an external stressor. A take that not everyone agrees on.

“Scientific studies show that emotional stress triggers addictive behavior. Financial resources can be put to better use to invest in social infrastructure that helps, among other factors, create significant stressors in our lives.”

Is crypto addiction the same everywhere? Almost certainly not.

Addiction can mean different things depending on where you live and what’s going on around you. For example, some things that people might become addicted to may not be considered problems elsewhere. may look for.

China has seen a moral panic over internet addiction over the past decade or so. At least 33 million people are addicted to his web games and other pastimes, according to the China Internet Network Information Center. In 2019, minors were restricted to 90 minutes of weekday gameplay and were prohibited from playing between 10pm and 8am.

Research shows that time spent online before 2019 was not much different than in the US and Europe.Yet policy makers and civil society

Are addictions the same everywhere? Individual researchers argue that, in many ways, China’s definition and understanding of addiction is socially constructed. (Of course, right?) So is one person’s risky bet on Bitcoin a telltale sign of addiction to another?

Quite frankly, cryptocurrencies haven’t had enough time yet for us to fully understand this issue. Another limiting factor is the context in which it is done. When most of us trade cryptocurrencies, it is in the privacy of our homes and smartphones. In such cases, privacy makes it difficult to monitor our behavior.

How bad is it?

Individuals may struggle with addiction to trading cryptocurrencies, but not everyone is convinced it is a major problem. Scott M. Lawin, CEO and COO of Candy Digital, said: says so.

“As in these areas, the basic risk-taking adage applies: Never take more risk than you can afford to lose. Learn to recognize the signs of addiction.”

Does he think the industry should demonstrate the dangers of increasing trading? We will continue to educate, onboard, and raise awareness of the next wave of users, highlighting potential risks and building trust with customers, investors, and regulators.”