According to a report by Cointelegraph, Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England, has called on UK legislators to take action to prevent young people from becoming addicted to cryptocurrency trading.
Pritchard, speaking at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester on Wednesday, stated that NHS had opened its 15th specialized clinic for treating gambling addiction earlier this year in response to “a real and growing social need.” According to The Times, staff from NHS’s network of 15 gambling clinics have started treating addicts who have fallen into crisis due to cryptocurrency losses, as well as those addicted to online sports betting, mostly young men who are often enticed by glamorous social media advertisements promising quick wealth.
Pritchard later remarked, “This addictive habit leads people to invest their money in things of uncertain value, while the NHS is left to pick up the pieces – this increasingly serious issue may further strain the healthcare service.” She told attendees that society needs to ask, “How do we want the NHS to use its limited resources?”
Pritchard added, “Do we want to tackle the problem at its source, or accept the NHS as an expensive safety net?” According to a previous report by Zombit, Family Addiction Specialist, an addiction counseling service, stated that about 1% of cryptocurrency traders develop severe pathological addiction, with reasons for cryptocurrency addiction including its round-the-clock nature leading many people to constantly check price charts. Some experts have pointed out signs of addiction to crypto trading, 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 conflicts or loss due to such transactions.
In related news, last June, the UK passed legislation 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 hoping to regulate it as a financial service.
UK Treasury Economic Secretary Bim Afolami stated in April this year that more laws were forthcoming, which would include regulating activities such as operating exchanges, custodial customer assets, and other cryptocurrency activities for the first time.
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