Cryptocurrency junkies who have got addicted of trading virtual money would now be able to get treatment at an addiction centre in the Scottish Borders.
Crypto addicts can receive treatment in Castle Craig Hospital, Peeblesshire so that they can deal with underlying issues and learn to live without Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Experts suggest that trading in digital currencies and digital assets such as Bitcoins can turn a person to an addict. It can lead to behavioural addiction, similar to gambling with some users obsessively following minute-by-minute ups and down in prices.
Some facilities like West Linton already run drug and alcohol addiction programmes but it has now went a step further by establishing the first course to treat cryptocurrency addiction by using techniques found in gambling addiction programmes.
The hospital has stated that there are no figures for the number of people addicted to the digital currencies. However, they predict that around 13 million people across the world trade in the system.
A gambling therapist, Chris Burn said, "The fluctuating crypto market and high risk appeal to the problem gambler."
"People find it a way of escaping from reality and they find it exciting. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins are traded heavily and people make huge money from it. They also lose huge amounts, but they choose to trade in it anyways," he added.
