According to a report by Cointelegraph, CEO of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, has called on UK lawmakers to take action to prevent young people from becoming addicted to cryptocurrency trading. Pritchard made the statement on Wednesday at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester, UK, where she mentioned that NHS opened its 15th clinic earlier this year specifically for treating gambling addiction in response to a “real and growing societal need.”
As reported by The Times, staff at NHS’s 15 gambling addiction clinics have started treating individuals who are in crisis due to cryptocurrency losses, as well as those addicted to online sports betting, most of whom are young males lured by glamorous social media ads promising quick wealth. Pritchard later stated, “This addictive behavior leads people to invest their money in things with no fixed value, and NHS can only clean up the aftermath – this increasingly serious issue may lead to further demand on the healthcare service.” She told attendees that society needs to ask, “How do we want the NHS to use limited resources?”
Pritchard added, “Are we going to address the problem at its source, or accept the NHS as an expensive safety net?” According to previous reports by Zombit, Family Addiction Specialist, a counseling service organization, has pointed out that about 1% of cryptocurrency traders develop severe pathological addiction. Reasons for cryptocurrency trading addiction include its 24/7 availability, leading many to constantly check price charts. Some experts have identified signs of cryptocurrency trading addiction, such as feeling anxious or irritable when not trading or unable to view token prices, borrowing money or selling assets to continue trading, and experiencing relationship problems due to such transactions.
In related news, last June, the UK passed a law regulating cryptocurrencies under the same rules as other financial services. In July 2023, the UK Treasury rejected a proposal from lawmakers in May to regulate retail cryptocurrency trading in a manner similar to gambling, instead aiming to regulate it as a financial service.
UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Bim Afolami, stated in April that more laws will soon be introduced, bringing activities such as operating exchanges, custodial customer assets, and other cryptocurrency activities under regulatory oversight.
