Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire, Scotland is opening a treatment center for people addicted to trading cryptocurrencies, according to Sky News.
The new program will use treatment techniques developed for gambling addicts.
"The high-risk, fluctuating cryptocurrency market appeals to the problem gambler," Chris Burn, a gambling therapist at Castle Craig told Sky News. "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."
Castle Craig Hospital already offers treatment programs for drug, alcohol and gambling addicts. Tony Marini, a former gambling addict who is now a therapist, will lead some of the new cryptocurrency treatment programs.
"I see cryptocurrency trading as a way for people to escape from themselves, into another world, because they don't like the world they're in," Mr. Marini told Sky News. "The first stage of treatment is to join other addicts in group therapy and share their life stories. This helps them identify with each other and realize that they're not alone."