There are creatures on planet Earth that spend all their time staring at Coinmarketcap waiting for the right time to buy or sell tokens. These creatures also trade on many different exchanges and now the meaning of strange words and strings such as whale, bull, bear, ATH, FOMO, and FUD. The chances are, they are humans addicted to cryptocurrency trade.
You will not find the description of that addiction in no scientific journal but believe me, it is as real as heroin addiction. To prove that, the Castle Craig Hospital in Scotland has open a whole new center dedicated to battling cryptocurrency addiction. The facility is the largest addiction treatment facility in Scotland.
According to the physicians working there, crypto addicts show the same behavioral patterns like problem gamblers. More precisely, both groups are prone to keep on spending ridiculous sums of money, knowing they will lose them. The gambling therapist at Castle Craig Chris Burn explained:
“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. It’s a classic bubble situation.”
The good news is that the techniques used to battle gambling addiction work just as well on crypto addicts. The first step is to join a group therapy, where everyone discusses how the addiction affected his or her daily routine.
Since cryptocurrencies are virtually something new, the behavioral problems stemming from them are yet to be studied. However, you can do your own research by just talking with crypto traders you know. Ask them whether they think they have a problem and whether they are willing to sign up for a rehabilitation program. The online media TheNextWeb asked several people including Niko da Costa Gomes and here’s what they found out.
Da Costa is not going for the rehabilitation program saying, “It’s not a very good idea. I don’t think anyone is really addicted to trading cryptocurrency unless they are very rich.”
The CEO of Velix.ID (blockchain startup) Manay Singhal said he has no issue with crypto trade though he loses more than he wins:
“I think profits and losses are just a part of the trading, and it is no different than trading any other kinds of securities,” he said. “Gambling addicts are just that — gambling addicts. They can choose any addiction they want, and it can be cryptocurrencies, but that doesn’t mean that a majority of cryptocurrency traders are addicts. There’re many reasons that make you trade cryptocurrencies frequently, given how fast things are changing in the industry. I am not signing up for any rehabilitation any time soon.”
The pattern is clear, nobody admits their problems. None of them even thinks this is possible.
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