The trading of digital currencies such as Bitcoin can be addictive

People hooked on trading cryptocurrencies are to be offered treatment to deal with their addiction.

Castle Craig Hospital in Peeblesshire has created a course of residential treatment for “crypto addicts” to deal with the underlying issues and learn to live without trading in the currencies.

Experts say that the trading of digital currencies or assets such as Bitcoin can become a behavioural addiction, similar to online gambling, with some users obsessively following minute-by-minute fluctuations in prices.

Castle Craig Hospital already runs drug and alcohol addiction programmes and has established this course, believed to be the first of its kind, using techniques found in gambling addiction programmes. Castle Craig said there were no figures for the number of people addicted to cryptocurrency, but there are about