Addiction to Cryptocurrency Trading Emerges as a Public Health Issue in the UK, According to the NHS

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UK’s National Health Service has recently highlighted cryptocurrency trading addiction as a growing public health issue.

NHS’s Amanda Pritchard alerted the necessity for action at ConfedExpo, attended by NHS leadership, commenting on this escalating problem among the youth. She underscored the sophistication of addictive mechanisms and identified unregulated crypto markets as a particular concern for young individuals.

“There’s an ongoing increase in gambling addictions among the younger population. As staff from the national problem gambling clinic reported, unregulated cryptocurrency markets are a noteworthy factor,” Pritchard remarked.

The NHS official further discussed the worrying trend of investments in volatile assets, leading to increased service demand from their health services. “Are we aiming to address the root problems, or is it acceptable that the NHS just mends the aftermath?” Pritchard probed.

The UK government has been working on regulating the cryptocurrency sphere. Notably, in the previous year, legislation was passed to regulate the crypto industry equivalent to other financial sectors. However, crypto retail trading wasn’t categorized akin to gambling but rather as a financial service, despite suggestions to the contrary in July 2023.

As reported by Crypto Briefing, crypto industry figures in the UK are striving to influence legal clarity on industry regulations. Additional legislative measures to oversee activities such as crypto exchanges and custody services are also being anticipated, declared by the Economic Secretary Bim Afolami.

The attraction of high-risk tokens coupled with the potential for large profits entices numerous crypto users, particularly young men, into risky investments. The prevalence of memecoins, leveraged bets on decentralized exchanges, and the crypto market’s perpetual operation are all part of the growing trend of concern over cryptocurrency trading addiction.

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