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Crypto addiction: a hidden epidemic?
Danzico had been swept up in the global craze for trading digital currencies during the pandemic, and very quickly it had grown into an obsession.
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A visitor looks at an 'NFT digital artwork' which will be auctionned on May 20 at the Millon Belgique auction house, in Brussels. The Europeans are getting into the NFT act. (AFP/Kenzo Tribouillard)
When Matt Danzico began seeing cryptocurrency logos in the packaging of grocery store items, he knew he had a problem.
Danzico had been swept up in the global craze for trading digital currencies during the pandemic, and very quickly it had grown into an obsession.
"I would have these sleepless nights where I'd be tossing and turning, trying to get these charts out of my head," said the Barcelona-based designer and visual journalist. "I thought I was losing my mind."
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum are notorious for their volatility, and the 39-year-old saw "years worth of money won and lost in a very short amount of time".
His emotions went on a similar rollercoaster, not helped by the fact that he was speculating in the depths of a COVID-19 lockdown. His wife noticed him becoming anxious and angry.
Danzico declines to specify the damage the experiment did to his finances -- suffice to say that "for our bank account, it was bad".
Reflecting months later during a trip home to the United States, the cheerful American mostly feels relieved that he nipped his addiction in the bud fairly quickly.
