For a growing number of people, cryptocurrency has stopped being an investment and become an addiction — one that experts say shares almost every hallmark of gambling disorder, yet remains largely invisible because society has learned to mistake compulsive trading for ambition.
Cryptocurrency markets are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, lightly regulated and engineered to keep users engaged. For vulnerable individuals, that combination can be devastating and the harm, experts warn, is being obscured by the same social rewards that make workaholism invisible.
Jamie Giles, client services director at Castle Craig, one of Scotland’s leading addiction treatment centres, has been treating patients with problematic cryptocurrency habits for years. He spoke to Euronews Health about what the condition looks like, who is most at risk and what to do if you recognise it in yourself or someone close to you.
What is cryptocurrency addiction?
“I define problematic cryptocurrency investing by the behaviour involved, not by the asset itself,” Giles said. “Cryptocurrencies, much like alcohol, are not inherently the problem. Many people invest in crypto responsibly.”
The defining feature, he said, is loss of control. “We are speaking about someone who becomes consumed by cryptocurrencies, continually escalates their involvement, chases losses, attempts unsuccessfully to cut back, and persists despite obvious harm to their finances, relationships and wellbeing.”
The problem, Giles explained, is not a bad investment decision. “The problem arises when someone repeatedly returns to the screen against their better judgement, conceals the extent of their trading activity, organises their emotional life around cryptocurrency prices, or becomes fixated on recouping gains and losses.”
Crypto sits in a particularly dangerous position on the spectrum between ordinary investing and compulsive behaviour, he added, because of how these products are designed.
Is there clinical evidence?
There is currently no formal diagnosis of cryptocurrency addiction in international classification systems, but Giles is clear that the absence of a label does not mean the condition does not exist.
“Nevertheless, a substantial body of research points to a strong correlation with gambling disorders,” he said. “One study involving more than four thousand participants in the United States found that roughly two-thirds of cryptocurrency traders exhibited risky or problematic gambling behaviours.”
The scientific consensus is not yet definitive, but the signal is remarkably consistent. If we approach this clinically, as a behavioural addiction akin to gambling disorder, we can observe positive therapeutic outcomes, he explained.
Who is most at risk?
“Individuals struggling with risky cryptocurrency use are typically younger men,” Giles said, adding that this reflects broader patterns within the crypto world itself.
Giles described a typical patient as a young professional in his mid-twenties who turns to alcohol and cocaine to cope with work pressure, then drifts into day trading crypto to offset the financial damage those habits cause, only to find he has swapped one addiction for another.
The particular danger with crypto, he added, is that it can masquerade as productivity. Unlike alcohol or drug dependency, which tend to produce visible consequences, compulsive trading is easily mistaken for ambition and society often rewards it as such.
The psychological toll
The link to mental health is well established, Giles said — anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and chronic stress are common, and in severe cases patients experience acute psychological crises. After catastrophic trading losses, suicidal ideation is not uncommon.
Crypto can function both as a cause and a coping mechanism, he added. Compulsive trading and psychological distress feed each other, and the financial dimension can make the damage sudden and severe.
The regulatory gap
Giles drew a direct comparison to gambling and to a loophole he believes is being quietly exploited. With betting companies set to disappear from Premier League shirts from the 2026-27 season, crypto firms are moving in. Around 70% of Premier League clubs now have a cryptocurrency or trading partner, he said.
“These products are marketed heavily toward young audiences and employ many of the same persuasive techniques that make gambling advertising so controversial: celebrity endorsements, promises of rapid wealth, and the fear of missing out. We should not allow cryptocurrencies to quietly replace gambling while pretending they are fundamentally different.”
The Financial Conduct Authority is already tightening oversight, removing unauthorised crypto promotions, restricting youth-targeted advertising and introducing deposit limits analogous to those used in gambling regulation.
What to do
“Recognising the problem is already half the battle, because addiction is fundamentally characterised by denial,” Giles said. Once that barrier is crossed, he stressed, people need to understand they are neither alone nor morally deficient — addiction is a treatable illness, not a personal failing.
For families, the message was equally direct. Crypto addiction is a family illness as much as an individual one, Giles said and those close to the person affected should not feel guilty or responsible. Compassion matters, but so do boundaries.
“Above all, you have to take care of yourself first — fit your own oxygen mask before helping others.”