A thousand miles away, in Scotland, specialists at another private clinic, Castle Craig, are seeing similar trends. Anthony Marini, a senior specialist therapist there, says Castle Craig has treated over 100 people with cryptocurrency problems since 2016. Some arrive to cope with alcohol or drug use, and crypto problems are only unearthed later.
Marini uses a 12-step plan akin to Alcoholics Anonymous. His work focuses on understanding what he calls the “crypto curve,” the arc from “highly fulfilling” trading to dependency, and then to painful realizations that can bring on feelings of isolation, helplessness, depression or secondary addictions. The path to recovery here includes an exploration of the self and spirituality, gradual tempering of usage, a search for healthier fulfillment and ultimately the rebuilding of routines and relationships.
Steven Elphinstone came to Castle Craig for a variety of reasons. Elphinstone, 50, was working as a tunnel miner in London when he got into spread betting, a speculative derivatives strategy that’s banned in the United States. He started trading crypto early, around 2015, and promised himself he’d become a Bitcoin millionaire.
Back then, Bitcoin was trading around $240, and he says he was buying four or five tokens a week. Elphinstone spent hours poring over charts at his home on the Shetland Islands, where he’d relocated while rebuilding his mother’s house.
He says he loved the high of a trade gone right. But the losses were thrilling, too. He says he also struggled with other addictions. Cocaine was a big one. He sank all of his earnings into the crypto market or crack binges. He felt as if he could swap the two habits.
“I was addicted to cocaine, and I was addicted to gambling,” he says. “If I didn't have cocaine, I was fairly happy gambling.”
“You’re always chasing the next high, and you’re never satisfied with the next high,” Elphinstone says.
He hit the bottom after realizing that, deep down, maybe he didn’t really want to be rich after all. He’d trade his way up from maybe 1,000 pounds ($1,353) to 100,000 pounds, and then lose it all. He’d go into debt, grow angry and resentful, and see the pattern repeat itself again and again.
At Castle Craig, his days are filled with reading, lectures and even penmanship, which is supposed to build a sense of routine. Part of his treatment has involved speaking with the media, including Bloomberg News, about his experiences. He still fixates on Bitcoin charts.
“I’m in mourning,” Elphinstone says. “It’s like I have this overwhelming feeling that I’ve lost the most special friend I’ve ever had in my life.”
Back in Manila, Stevie Rojas says he’s found strength in his faith. After he left the confessional, he quit trading cold. He sold all his crypto. He uninstalled all his apps. He went back to Reddit, only this time to a forum where posters poke fun at crypto, rather than promote it.
“It’s like any other addiction,” Rojas says. “It could destroy your life if you don’t take care of it.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.