Cryptocurrency trading addiction has been flagged as a public health issue by the head of the UK’s National Health Service

Cryptocurrency trading has become an addictive habit among the UK’s younger population, according to National Health Service (NHS) chief executive Amanda Pritchard, who has raised the alarm over growing cases of trading addiction of cryptocurrencies. Pritchard called for intervention from UK lawmakers, flagging the risks associated with reliance on cryptocurrency trading. In recent months, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak The administration has taken numerous pro-encryption measures in order to project the nation as a profitable location for Web3 businesses.

The comments about the increased reliance on cryptocurrency trading were made earlier this week, when Pritchard was speaking at the ConfedExpo for NHS executives in Manchester. The NHS chief executive said there has been an increase in the number of cryptocurrency investors dependent on volatile and financially unstable cryptocurrency trading businesses.

“As a society we must ask ourselves: can we continue to pick up the pieces as the methods used to keep people trapped become ever more sophisticated and more and more opportunities open up for younger people to become addicted to gambling, including unregulated cryptocurrency,” Pritchard said in her speechrecalling what she was told when she visited the National Problem Gambling Clinic earlier this year.

Statista estimates that 17 million people in the UK – 26% of the country’s population – owned or used cryptocurrencies as of December 2023. Over the next four years to 2028, the number of cryptocurrency users is likely to surpass the 22 million mark. The UK is expected to get revenue of $2.5 billion (around Rs 20,886 million) from the cryptocurrency market by the end of this year.

The NHS chief also warned that if rising cases of cryptocurrency gambling were not controlled in time, they could pose a risk to members of the UK’s crypto community and the country’s financial stability.

The UK has sought to protect the unaware and uninformed people from the volatile cryptocurrency exchange. For example, legislators in the United Kingdom have done this limited Cryptocurrency-related companies from displaying promotional ads to attract customers to their platforms. The UK Treasury did so guest public opinions on the risks and opportunities related to cryptocurrencies.

The UK has also opened discussions with India on managing risks and vulnerabilities associated with crypto assets.

The Times quotes Pritchard as said that people in the UK are investing their money in volatile assets and it is up to the NHS to “pick up the pieces”.

“This growing problem could create further demand on the health service. Will we tackle the problems at source or will we accept the NHS becoming an expensive safety net? Pritchard said he urged the authorities to continue taking action to control these financially risky decisions by British citizens.

In 2023, a rehabilitation center in Spain had opened a program for people addicted to the cryptocurrency tradition. For up to $75,000 (around Rs. 61 lakh), the rehab facility said it will treat cryptocurrency trading “addicts” with massage, yoga and therapy for up to four weeks.

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