Crypto trading should be regulated to curb harms caused by addiction, NHS boss says

Cryptocurrency trading should be regulated in a bid to limit the harms caused by gambling addiction, the head of the NHS has suggested.

Amanda Pritchard said the health service has seen a rise in young people seeking help after getting hooked on the volatile digital currency market.

She warned the NHS is at risk of becoming an ‘expensive safety net’ if the nation fails to ‘grasp the nettle’ and do more to prevent ill health, rather than just treating it.

Ms Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, today raised the alarm at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester following a recent visit to an NHS addiction centre.

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies, which lie beyond the control of authorities such as central banks and governments.

They are bought and sold like shares and traded globally – but their values fluctuate wildly and are a focus of speculative traders who hope to make quick profits.

Addiction experts warn it is easy for traders to get ‘sucked into a cycle of speculation, wins and losses’, with gurus on social media tempting people to try with attractive tales of how they made a fortune.

MPs on the Treasury select committee have previously described digital markets as akin to the Wild West, with committee chair Harriett Baldwin branding the coins ‘fool’s gold’.

Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, was trading for $69,300 this afternoon but has this year hit a high of $73,700 and a low of $24,800. Others have seen their value wiped out.

Ms Pritchard said: ‘In 1948 betting shops were still illegal. Fast forward to earlier this year.

‘The NHS opened a 15th specialist centre for gambling addiction responding to a real and growing social need. 

‘The NHS can help, will help. But again, we can’t solve this alone.

‘So as a society we need to ask — are we okay to just continue picking up the pieces while the methods employed to keep people hooked get ever more sophisticated.

‘Ever more opportunities spring up for younger people to get addicted to gambling including — as I’ve heard from staff when I visited the National Problem Gambling clinic earlier this year — on unregulated cryptocurrency markets.

‘Will we tackle tackle problems at source, or do we accept the NHS becomes an expensive safety net?

‘That kind of service is what the NHS was born as, but it shouldn’t be our ambition now.’ 

She later added: ‘The addictive habit sees people investing their own money in something with no fixed value, with the NHS left to pick up the pieces — this growing problem could create further demand for the health service.

‘Gambling can have a debilitating impact on personal relationships, your finances and severely damage your mental wellbeing, so if you’re worried about your relationship with gambling, please come forward to our clinics by self-referral or speak to your GP practice.’ 

The Treasury committee report, published last year, called for cryptocurrencies to be regulated like gambling, rather than as a financial service, to avoid creating a ‘halo’ of credibility around the $1.2 trillion market.

It highlighted a 2022 survey showed that around 10 per cent of UK adults-five million people-hold or have held cryptoassets, with ‘cryptocurrencies’ the most commonly held type (79 per cent).

The most mentioned reason for holding cryptoassets was that they were a ‘fun investment’ (52 per cent). 

There was also anecdotal evidence of school children speculating in cryptoassets.

The price volatility of unbacked cryptoassets — and their lack of intrinsic value — exposes consumers to significant risks of losses.

Dr Niall Campbell, a consultant psychiatrist specialising in addiction treatment at Priory Hospital Roehampton, said: ‘Over the past few years we have seen a steady stream of patients who have got into serious difficulties with crypto currency dealing.

‘For some it becomes an addiction, in that it takes over their life. As with other addictions, there are huge consequences to their mental health, financial health and relationship health.

‘It can be very similar to gambling addiction, as people constantly chase their losses.

‘We would use a similar treatment model to other addictions, in that we recommend abstinence.’