Financial Insights That Matter
- Demand for crypto-trading addiction therapy is rising, experts in the space say.
- Crypto addiction mirrors gambling addiction, driven by excitement and potential financial gain.
- Therapists note clients often face legal issues, financial losses, and personal life disruptions.
Navigating the notoriously volatile crypto market is an exceedingly difficult thing to do.
But with bitcoin coming off a 124% rally in 2024 and as meme coins surge in popularity, some can’t see the excessive risk that lies beyond what they deem a bevy of opportunities to strike it rich.
And eventually, it gets them into trouble — so much so that some conclude that they need to seek professional help.
Many therapy and counseling firms now offer crypto-related services, which have become more popular in recent years, according to professionals in the space.
Business Insider asked two therapists about their experiences with clients — below are some of their top observations.
Crypto addiction often resembles gambling addiction
While cryptocurrencies are relatively new, experts say the characteristics exemplified by traders who have gotten to the point of addiction often resemble those of an older condition: gambling addiction.
But the odds of winning aren’t always even. Nor are they as transparent as they are in, say, casino games or sports gambling.
“It is seen as a quick way to make money, but the reality is it’s a skill-based form of gambling, and there are certainly more losers than winners,” said Craig Bilton, clinical director at The Diamond Rehab Thailand, a rehab center with a one-month minimum stay.
Similar to gambling addictions, the dopamine from the first win keeps people coming back. But oftentimes, like with gambling, it’s not even about making money itself — it’s about the excitement of taking on the risk.
“They work on the same circuit of the brain,” Bilton said. “There is an initial win that creates the hook. And then after that, it’s the anticipation of the win.”
Clients sometimes miss their sessions out of fear of repercussions for crimes
Bobbe McGinley, clinical director of Birches Health, said that some clients are likely involved in illegal activity, resulting in their absence from therapy sessions.
“Cryptocurrency frauds and scams, ranging from phishing, Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes, to market manipulation, have been growing in frequency and magnitude over the past years, inflicting considerable financial losses on victims, and becoming an issue of significant concern,” McGinley said in an email.
“Individuals involved often do not report for therapy, support, and assistance due to the complexity of their shame, and stress and anxiety about potential consequences,” she added.
Clients have usually suffered big financial losses
“I’ve recently had a client that lost half a million dollars,” Bilton said.
The sums of money aren’t always that big — but the amounts are usually significant relative to each trader, according to Bilton.
“If you take a cocaine addict, the cocaine addict will stop using when they run out of cocaine,” he said. “A gambling addict or a cryptocurrency or day-trading addict, they stop using when they’ve run out of money.”
The addiction is the symptom of another underlying issue
“We want to always be able to go deeper. We always want to be able to figure out: why the behavior, why the pain,” Bilton said. “The reality is the addiction meets legitimate needs, but in an illegitimate way.”
Crypto-trading addictions often harm many parts of clients’ lives — not just financial
“These individuals often spend considerable amounts of time daily on trading activities (neglecting other areas of their lives) and highly value social status and success, being highly competitive,” McGinley said. “Reported negative consequences are not rare and can be varied: from marital conflicts, financial losses and lawsuits to adverse psychological outcomes.”
Bilton said he’s seen similar issues with clients.
“There’s often a lot of damage control that needs to be done, whether it’s relational therapy because the husband spent all the savings,” he said.
“People don’t phone me because I’m a nice guy,” Bilton continued. “I’m a nice guy, but people phone me because a lot has happened.”