Hospital Launches Rehab for Cryptocurrency Traders

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Published
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Hospital Launches Rehab for Cryptocurrency Traders

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The treatments of alcohol, drugs, sex, video-game and gambling addictions are big business. It was only a matter of time before cryptocurrency traders, who often sit at their trading desks for long hours at a time, attempting to reap fortunes, would need similar treatment. It has come in the form of the first major hospital available for addiction help.

Castle Craig, a well-regarded addiction treatment operation in Europe, will start to take in cryptocurrency traders. Its management did not say whether these people would come after traditional interventions or after they had identified themselves to be in need of treatment. Castle Craig will use many forms of treatment that have been around for years but that the facility may be able to use for a new breed of addicts.

The clinic’s management said:

Castle Craig, one of Europe’s leading addiction rehab clinics, has received requests to treat cryptocurrency addiction and is highlighting this area of concern. People addicted to online Bitcoin trading are able to join the intensive gambling programme at the 30 year-established alcohol, drug and gambling rehab clinic.

Treatment at Castle Craig residential rehab clinic involves intensive evidence-based therapies ranging from the 12 Steps, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), trauma therapy and equine therapy among others.

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The hallmarks of this kind of addiction are people who “compulsively” day trade the market. They are probably not any different from day traders in stocks, bonds and commodities. The primary difference would seem to be that cryptocurrencies are newer and more poorly understood. Perhaps that makes trading them riskier. Castle Craig claims that this trading creates a “high,” which also makes it no different from other forms of addiction.

The clinic got one expert to give his opinion on the treatment. Dr. Mark Griffiths, professor of Behavioural Addiction at Nottingham Trent University, said:

… 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 & losses were made. It’s a classic bubble situation.

Castle Craig did not say how much the treatment will cost.

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Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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