‘Trading is gambling, no doubt about it’ – how cryptocurrency dealing fuels addiction

Steven has lost more bitcoin than most people will ever own.

Raised on the remote Shetland archipelago, he left school at 13 to become a trawlerman before moving into construction, eventually earning £85,000 a year digging tunnels for Crossrail.

Despite his self-made success, compulsive cryptocurrency trading, alcohol and drug use took over his life.

In the fog of multiple addictions, he lost the "addresses" of between five and 10 bitcoins, rendering his digital buried treasure - worth up to £300,000 today - impossible to retrieve.

Steven spotted the potential of bitcoin early and he had a talent for trading. But even if he had that money now, his addiction means it would soon be squandered.

"Trading is gambling, there's no doubt about it," he says.

"I studied and studied. I taught myself how to be a good trader and tried really hard to manage my accounts and stick to a set of rules.