People are so obsessed with trading cryptocurrencies that a hospital just launched a program to treat addictive behavior

• Scottish addiction treatment center Castle Craig Hospital has launched a program geared to help people who are addicted to buying and selling cryptocurrencies online.
• In its online guide, the hospital describes the addictive behavior as similar to that of other online addictions, and offers practical advice as well as longterm therapeutic treatments.

Since bitcoin first appeared nearly a decade ago, cryptocurrencies have transformed internet culture. Online, crypto traders and blockchain enthusiasts eagerly swap anecdotes regarding market speculation and upcoming token offerings, and the crypto culture has spilled out into the world at large as well, inspiring thousands of summits, meet-up groups, and conferences worldwide.

But there's a downside to that cryptocurrency culture that a rural Scottish hospital is hoping to address: Cryptocurrency trading addiction. 

Castle Craig Hospital, a treatment center that offers programs to treat alcohol, drug, and behavioral addictions is now offering a cryptocurrency addiction program among its offerings for gambling addictions.

According to the hospital's website, the program focuses on people whose cryptocurrency trading habits have become problematic. 

"Cryptocurrency addiction is a behavioural addiction, similar to gambling addiction, and disrupts or damages personal, family relationships and recreational pursuits," the site reads.

The hospital suggests that the addiction is most common in young men, who make up the demographic majority of online traders, and that the behavior is a form of evasion that can potentially lead to total bankruptcy. As treatment, the hospital recommends cognitive behavioral therapy or a 12-step program.

Read Castle Craig Hospital's full treatment protocol here.

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