Journalists conducted an anonymous interview with a patient of a clinic that treats crypto addiction

A recent interview with a patient in a rehabilitation center in Thailand about his crypto addiction confirms speculation that the disease could become a problem for many around the world as cryptocurrency becomes more and more popular.

Many agree that crypto addiction, although not often talked about, is similar to gambling addiction.

Coindesk quotes Dr. Theo de Vries, the head of Diamond Rehab in Thailand, which treats patients for crypto addiction. De Vries has noticed that crypto addiction is usually combined with something else, and many patients tell him that they are addicted to either alcohol or drugs in addition to the desire to trade. He says that his clinic treats crypto addiction in the same way as gambling, noting that the latter has «the highest suicide rate of all addictions.»

The journalists also interviewed one of the patients anonymously. The patient is a 38-year-old man with two children and the owner of a marketing company. He said he first became interested in cryptography in 2016 when he heard about Ethereum.

His addiction steadily grew every day, reaching its highest point in his search for the «next new gem» that could bring substantial profits. The man was completely consumed with the desire to find his idea that would yield a thousand «X's» and began taking out loans to support his investments, including borrowing from friends and family.

Eventually, the patient started making up nonsense and lying to get a loan and invest in cryptocurrencies. Before coming to the clinic, he spent his time constantly checking crypto prices and watching Youtube videos in search of new ideas.

The patient’s friend eventually convinced him to seek help from specialists, which led to his move to the rehabilitation center.

It’s worth noting that there are already quite a few such medical institutions — we recently wrote about a similar clinic in Switzerland. A week of treatment there costs $ 90,000.