0:00:07 > 0:00:13Bitcoin's made some people very rich indeed - at least on paper.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16I've made an extraordinary amount of money.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18For some investors here, it's a roller-coaster
0:00:18 > 0:00:22ride, as values plunge.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26My son says, "Hurry up and become a Bitcoin millionaire, mum!"
0:00:26 > 0:00:29We discover the power behind Bitcoin.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Every single one of these is a desktop computer.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36There are thousands of them.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39But is this all just some media hype?
0:00:39 > 0:00:44It's human nature to jump on the bandwagon.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46It's what every great bubble is made
0:00:46 > 0:00:51of and they are calling this the greatest bubble of all time.
0:00:51 > 0:00:58And behind the hype, we uncover a plain old-fashioned scam.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03Show me the money!
0:01:03 > 0:01:10Tonight on Panorama: Who Wants To Be A Bitcoin Millionaire?
0:01:18 > 0:01:22Pounds, euros, dollars - they're all currencies
0:01:22 > 0:01:26that we know and we recognise.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28We might think we could do with a bit more,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31but at least we know what money is and how money works.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34We keep it in banks and we spend it.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38But now there's a new currency which has got everyone talking,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40and it's very different.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43It's called Bitcoin.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Have you heard of it?
0:01:45 > 0:01:47I don't really understand it.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49But yes, I have heard about it.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53I do and I wish I had got in on it about a decade ago.
0:01:53 > 0:01:54That would have been nice.
0:01:54 > 0:02:02I know some people are making a lot of money and some people aren't.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07I do also think they are a load of nonsense and it's just a con.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09I've been following Bitcoin for the past five years,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12and even now, there's still a lot of confusion about it.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14For one thing, it might be called Bitcoin,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16but there aren't actually any physical coins.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Or notes. You can't hold it in your hand.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Bitcoin is a new type of currency called a cryptocurrency,
0:02:22 > 0:02:23and it only exists digitally.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Now, actually, there are quite a few types
0:02:25 > 0:02:26of cryptocurrencies,
0:02:26 > 0:02:34but they all have one thing in common.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37They operate completely separately from the normal banking system.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39When you buy something with cryptocurrency,
0:02:39 > 0:02:44the banks don't handle or check the payment.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46In fact, they don't even know about them at all.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48There are shops that accept cryptocurrency,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50where instead of using your bank card to take money
0:02:50 > 0:02:55from your bank account, you scan your phone instead.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Transaction confirmed.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01Thank you.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04But the reason you've probably heard of Bitcoin is because its value has
0:03:04 > 0:03:06gone through the roof.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Even with its recent crashing price, if you'd bought £50 worth of Bitcoin
0:03:09 > 0:03:12at the beginning of 2011, it would now be worth more
0:03:12 > 0:03:16than £1 million.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19I'm going to find out if we've all missed the boat or whether it's
0:03:19 > 0:03:22still possible to become a Bitcoin millionaire.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29It started as something for computer geeks, but it's now moved
0:03:29 > 0:03:32into the mainstream.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34This is Millie.
0:03:34 > 0:03:41She's a Newcastle mum with three kids and four pugs.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43She's been buying and selling books on the side for
0:03:43 > 0:03:45almost 15 years.
0:03:45 > 0:03:52But now her new hobby is investing in cryptocurrency.
0:03:52 > 0:03:5330,000 books I had to hand-sort.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58Yeah, it took me a whole year to do it.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Considerably more hard work than dabbling in bitcoin.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02My son says, "Don't do the books anymore.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05"Hurry up and become a Bitcoin millionaire, mum!"
0:04:05 > 0:04:08She heard about it before Christmas and she's been dabbling
0:04:08 > 0:04:10for the past couple of months, and has also earned commission
0:04:10 > 0:04:15getting family members to buy, too.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17What I'm doing at the moment is I'm going to buy
0:04:17 > 0:04:23like £100 worth of bitcoin.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Oh, my God, it's like my guilty pleasure.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27I'm sneaking a peek all day long.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31I bought Bitcoin in the hope that it might improve my life.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35If I lose my four or five hundred quid, c'est la vie.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37All over the country, little pockets of people
0:04:37 > 0:04:43are starting to play around with cryptocurrency.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Over the last few months, it's amazing how bitcoin has moved
0:04:45 > 0:04:49into the mainstream.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Tabloid newspapers are doing special features about the latest
0:04:51 > 0:04:58cryptocurrencies and which one you should buy.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02This has gone very quickly from a tiny, niche little nerdy tech
0:05:02 > 0:05:05that a tiny number of people cared about to something that the ordinary
0:05:05 > 0:05:09person on the street is suddenly fascinated by.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13But while Millie is careful not to invest more than she can afford
0:05:13 > 0:05:18to lose, others aren't.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22The staggering rise in the value of many cryptocurrencies
0:05:22 > 0:05:25has driven some people to take huge risks, even taking out
0:05:25 > 0:05:30mortgages to cash in on what they see as a gold rush.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34We have begun to ask questions and look at it.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39But I don't think anyone in British politics or the regulation system
0:05:39 > 0:05:43in our country is going at the right speed, bearing in mind what has
0:05:43 > 0:05:50happened within cryptocurrency over the last few months.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Now we seem to have a real live situation.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54But Bitcoin's value has gone down as well as up.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57If you'd invested £50 just before Christmas,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00you'd now have £20.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03These recent price crashes have caused some authorities to act.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Just last week, banking giant Lloyds banned its customers
0:06:05 > 0:06:09from buying cryptocurrency with their credit cards.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13They're worried about people racking up debt.
0:06:13 > 0:06:19The idea behind cryptocurrency is that it is a way of storing
0:06:19 > 0:06:23money and making purchases without involving the banks.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27But remember, the banks don't just hold our money,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30they also keep a check on who has paid what.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32They are a trusted central point.
0:06:32 > 0:06:40So how do you do banking without the banks?
0:06:40 > 0:06:42When you want to buy something normally
0:06:42 > 0:06:45using your normal bank card, this is what happens.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47I give my card details to the shop.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52The shop asks the bank if I'm good for the money.
0:06:52 > 0:06:58The bank checks its records to see if I have got enough in my account.
0:06:58 > 0:07:04If I do, it lets the shop know, it updates its records to show
0:07:04 > 0:07:07the movement of money from my account to the shop's.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Oh, and it takes a little cut for its trouble.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17Now, if you wanted to remove the bank from that system,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20who else would you trust to keep those records, and not alter them
0:07:20 > 0:07:23or cheat in any way?
0:07:23 > 0:07:26I wouldn't trust you.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29I wouldn't trust you!
0:07:29 > 0:07:37In fact, I wouldn't trust any single person but I might trust everyone.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42The idea is you don't have a central record of transactions.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Instead, you distribute many, many copies of this
0:07:45 > 0:07:48ledger around the world.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53Each owner of each copy records every transaction.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56So there's no way that a forged transaction can make it in.
0:07:56 > 0:08:02If I try to alter a ledger, it won't match all the other copies
0:08:02 > 0:08:09and it gets rejected.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12So to buy something using cryptocurrency,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15I give the shop my details.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19The shop asks all the book-keepers if I'm good for the money.
0:08:19 > 0:08:26The book-keepers all check their records to see if I have enough.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30If I do, they tell the shop and then all update their records to show
0:08:30 > 0:08:38the movement of money.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Oh, and one of them, at random, will be given a reward of some
0:08:42 > 0:08:46newly-created cryptocurrency.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48This is how cryptocurrencies work.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50And remember, all these book-keepers, all these
0:08:50 > 0:08:53ledgers are not people.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56They are computers.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02Lots of computers.
0:09:02 > 0:09:09And I mean a lot.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12That random reward for being a book-keeper is an important point.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15It was the original incentive for people to use their home
0:09:15 > 0:09:18computers to help keep the books.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22But I feel the scale of these places is tipping the odds away
0:09:22 > 0:09:24from average investors.
0:09:26 > 0:09:33Every single one of these is a desktop computer.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35There are thousands of them all wired together and all doing
0:09:35 > 0:09:42one thing - book-keeping for cryptocurrency.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46And because every so often they get that reward of new cryptocurrency,
0:09:46 > 0:09:52they call this operation mining.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Now this particular mine contains 20,000 machines,
0:09:55 > 0:10:00a very expensive set-up.
0:10:00 > 0:10:08As well as the cost of the hardware,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10running an outfit of this costs a lot in electricity.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12That's not just electricity to power the computers,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15but also to power the cooling systems to stop this
0:10:15 > 0:10:16lot overheating.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20That's why they've put this one in Iceland.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Like a lot of mass computing operations,
0:10:22 > 0:10:24north is best.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27It means you don't need to run energy-hungry air chillers.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32You just suck in that freezing air from outside.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Oh, and the electricity here is geothermal and really cheap,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39thanks to the volcanic activity just underground.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Despite all of that, though, this place spends more
0:10:42 > 0:10:46than EUR1 million a month on electricity.
0:10:46 > 0:10:53So you can imagine how much money they're making.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56It's absolutely remarkable that you have these banks of computers,
0:10:56 > 0:11:01warehouses full of them all over the world.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04All these computers and all the amazing things they could be
0:11:04 > 0:11:07doing and all the computing power that could be spent on all sorts
0:11:07 > 0:11:13of tasks is being dedicated solely to this one peculiar job
0:11:13 > 0:11:17of mining a cryptocurrency.
0:11:17 > 0:11:23It's absolutely ridiculous in some ways that this
0:11:23 > 0:11:25is what we are using our computers for.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27The higher the price of cryptocurrencies,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30the more money the miners stand to make and the more mines
0:11:30 > 0:11:33spring up.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Thanks to more and more press coverage
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and more and more chatter on social media, rumours
0:11:40 > 0:11:42of a gold rush have spread.
0:11:42 > 0:11:49And in any gold rush, there will be winners and losers.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53I know many people are still going to invest,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55I understand that.
0:11:55 > 0:12:01It's not because you're stupid.
0:12:01 > 0:12:02It's humas nature.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04There is this incredible thing called a fear of missing out, right?
0:12:04 > 0:12:06And it's just such a powerful thing.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09And wherever there's the promise of gold, there's also those
0:12:09 > 0:12:11who want to exploit the prospectors.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17This might look like a rock concert, but it is in fact a recruitment
0:12:17 > 0:12:25drive for a cryptocurrency called OneCoin.
0:12:25 > 0:12:32Based on the success of Bitcoin, but better, smarter and more innovative.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37OneCoin, we're told, will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42Layla got interested in cryptocurrency after a trusted
0:12:42 > 0:12:44friend, and OneCoin salesman, asked her along to
0:12:44 > 0:12:47one of the meetings.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50It took me 20 years to save up this money.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54I made lots of sacrifices with two jobs while studying,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58and the aim was ideally to get on the property ladder,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00use it for my marriage, and also to help my mother
0:13:00 > 0:13:03and my brother.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Layla attended a seminar similar to this one 18 months ago in London.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10It encouraged people to sign up to a scheme to help spread the word
0:13:10 > 0:13:14about the OneCoin cryptocurrency.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19So Panorama decided to go undercover to see the hard sell for ourselves.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21We wanted to investigate how unsuspecting investors
0:13:21 > 0:13:28are lured by OneCoin to part with their hard-earned cash.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Layla felt pressured by the salesman.
0:13:34 > 0:13:41Handing over £32,500 of her savings in just one day.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45He then went on to telling me there was a guaranteed return
0:13:45 > 0:13:47of more than £400,000 and I was making the best
0:13:47 > 0:13:50decision of my life.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00I then told my mum, my sister and that totalled up
0:14:00 > 0:14:04to £56,000.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Listening to the sales pitch, you can see why the family
0:14:07 > 0:14:10thought they'd struck gold.
0:14:17 > 0:14:18What do you earn a year?
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Six figures is good, right?
0:14:20 > 0:14:21We make 35,000 a week.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23We should have listened to you a long time ago
0:14:23 > 0:14:25and if you did you'd be a multi millionaire.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28You can make millions of pounds and very quickly.
0:14:31 > 0:14:32Not so for Layla though.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Shortly afterwards she discovered she'd lost access to all her money.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39And that's when I realised that I had just made the poorest
0:14:39 > 0:14:43decision in my life.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44Last month, the Bulgarian authorities raided
0:14:44 > 0:14:45OneCoin's headquarters
0:14:45 > 0:14:47and shut down their servers.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50It is one of many investigations from around the globe.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55Several of OneCoin's representatives were arrested in Britain.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57In a statement to Panorama, OneCoin told us they have
0:14:57 > 0:14:59offered full cooperation and are collaborating
0:14:59 > 0:15:02with all authorities to finalize the case as soon as possible.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05However, they claim that Layla had gathered enough information to take
0:15:05 > 0:15:08an informed decision.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12And that she had received, activated and used her accounts.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Therefore we consider that there is no legal reason
0:15:15 > 0:15:20for claiming a refund from the company.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21Today, Layla is shattered.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24She's lost her life savings in what is essentially
0:15:24 > 0:15:28an old fashioned pyramid scam, using cyrptocurrency hype.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31And she's not the only victim.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33The authorities say they need more help from legislators to bring
0:15:33 > 0:15:38this area under control.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41We need the help of regulators, we need the help of legislators,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44particularly to crack down on these high valued investment scams
0:15:44 > 0:15:49and you know this trend of fools' gold effectively that is offered
0:15:49 > 0:15:53to people as they seek to cash in on the Bitcoin frenzy
0:15:53 > 0:15:57and are just scams - perfect scams and because it's not
0:15:57 > 0:15:59regulated there is no means by which the investor can make
0:15:59 > 0:16:04an informed decision as to if it's safe to invest my money in this.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07I think that to date cryptocurrency has not been on Parliament's
0:16:07 > 0:16:09agenda or on the agenda in Whitehall that much.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12I think probably hand on heart we have all been too slow,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15but the opportunity is not lost, and we should get
0:16:15 > 0:16:17on with the job now.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19As the authorities struggle with regulation, the most powerful
0:16:19 > 0:16:23online platform has decided to act.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27Facebook has banned adverts that promote cryptocurrency and these
0:16:27 > 0:16:28recruitment events - these so-called
0:16:28 > 0:16:33Initial Coin Offerings.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35But away from some out-and-out cons, there are other ways that
0:16:35 > 0:16:40cryptocurrencies can be used to subvert the system.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Remember how cryptocurrencies bypass the banks?
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Well, that means that your transactions are very,
0:16:46 > 0:16:51very hard for the authorities to regulate or trace.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54So if you happen to have a few million that's difficult
0:16:54 > 0:16:56to move around the world, Bitcoin could be the
0:16:56 > 0:16:59perfect system for you.
0:17:08 > 0:17:16So, here we have a beautiful property, it's 4,800 square feet.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19The asking prices is 17.5 million pounds and this property
0:17:19 > 0:17:21is available to be acquired in Bitcoin, in fact that's
0:17:21 > 0:17:22the prefered method for payment.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Eleesa Dadiani is a London art gallery owner who brokers deals
0:17:25 > 0:17:32between ultra-rich sellers and ultra-rich buyers.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Fine art, F1 cars, precious stones, bullion, fine wine, bloodstock,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38thoroughbred horses...
0:17:38 > 0:17:40all the normal categories.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43So we have a new breed of high net-worth individual who've made
0:17:43 > 0:17:48a lot of money with cryptocurrency.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51So now we have a problem.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54How do we cash in these holdings?
0:17:54 > 0:17:57So there's another way of doing things.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Move from crypto into tangible assets.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04I mean it's a great problem to have.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06And this is where the unregulated nature of cryptocurrency
0:18:06 > 0:18:12really comes into its own.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15One of the reasons to not use conventional currency
0:18:15 > 0:18:16is because you can't.
0:18:16 > 0:18:24A lot of clients are from China, Russia...
0:18:30 > 0:18:33And these are people who are willing to put a lot of money
0:18:33 > 0:18:35into the UK market for example.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37How do you move this money from a sanctioned nation
0:18:37 > 0:18:38like Russia, for example?
0:18:38 > 0:18:40How do you move this money here?
0:18:40 > 0:18:42If you are under the sanctioned domain, you will have probably
0:18:42 > 0:18:45had your money frozen at some point, you have banks controlling
0:18:45 > 0:18:48what and how you spend your money, transactions being flagged up
0:18:48 > 0:18:50even though there's nothing wrong with them but just
0:18:50 > 0:18:52because they don't look like your normal transactions.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54You're probably going to acquire cryptos, and then very easily
0:18:54 > 0:18:56transcend that handicap.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Eleesa stresses she does stringent checks on clients to make
0:18:59 > 0:19:02sure their money is clean before she deals with them.
0:19:02 > 0:19:07Others are not as scrupulous.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13One of the things around crypto currencies is that they have come
0:19:13 > 0:19:16along at a time when anti-money laundering and know your client
0:19:16 > 0:19:20regulations has reduced the supply of legitimate money to the illegal
0:19:20 > 0:19:22economy and so we have seen a substitute coming
0:19:22 > 0:19:27through in the form of Bitcoin.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29This ability to make payments, which avoid going through the banks,
0:19:29 > 0:19:34is what really kick-started Bitcoin.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38By making it the digital currency of choice for criminals.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Since its earliest days, websites on the darknet have allowed
0:19:41 > 0:19:44the trade of illegal goods like drugs and weapons,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47with Bitcoin considered a safe way to make payments and even pass funds
0:19:47 > 0:19:52to terrorist organisations.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55But it's the use of cryptocurrencies to hide money earned
0:19:55 > 0:20:01through crime which is particularly worrying authorities.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04There are three to four billion pounds worth of dirty money
0:20:04 > 0:20:09being laundered each year in Europe through virtual currencies.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11It's still a small proportion of the overall amount,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14but it's quickly growing.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17And of course because this is an unregulated area,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19highly anonymised, it's very difficult for the police
0:20:19 > 0:20:25in most cases to identify who is actually cashing this out.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28But we're also seeing a trend where drug money
0:20:28 > 0:20:31is being converted into Bitcoins - cash buying Bitcoins and then
0:20:31 > 0:20:34the criminals distributing that money through multiple accounts used
0:20:34 > 0:20:36by individuals that are not seemingly connected
0:20:36 > 0:20:40with a criminal organisation.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44There are then darker sides to Bitcoin and virtual currencies,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48but there is also a lot of money to be made - if you get
0:20:48 > 0:20:54your timing right.
0:20:54 > 0:21:00I'm travelling to the heart of this new movement - San Francisco.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02In the 60's, this city brought the world hippy culture
0:21:02 > 0:21:08and free thinking ideas.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Today, it's an anti-bank revolution the people here want.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13And these early adopters are far more interested in cold hard
0:21:13 > 0:21:19cash than free love.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21I've come to the Cryptocastle - a New Age commune of
0:21:21 > 0:21:26which Jeremy Gardner is the king.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28So tell them to look at the volatility.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31It's something you google.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33Look at Bitcoin.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Now "The Castle" is actually a three storey house
0:21:35 > 0:21:39which this 25-year-old sublets to other cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42I am surprised there are so many bunk beds in a house that
0:21:42 > 0:21:44accommodates so many millionaires?
0:21:44 > 0:21:46The millionaires, once they make their millions, move out.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Right.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51In 2013, he put all his savings into cryptocurrency,
0:21:51 > 0:21:56and after four years of growth...
0:21:56 > 0:21:58I've made an extraordinary amount of money relative
0:21:58 > 0:22:03to what I ever conceived.
0:22:03 > 0:22:09To me, crypto assets are like social security for millennials.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12In theory, young people who invest today have the potential to see
0:22:12 > 0:22:14a lot of their wealth being generated just
0:22:14 > 0:22:16by holding these crypto assets as they appreciate in value over
0:22:16 > 0:22:22the next years and decades.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24It's an investment opportunity of a lifetime.
0:22:24 > 0:22:30I've lived through crashes in the value of these assets before
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and if my net worth dropped 95% tomorrow, it would have no
0:22:33 > 0:22:36effect on my happiness.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39It strikes me that even if it drops 95% you are still
0:22:39 > 0:22:40going to be very wealthy.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42I'd still be fine.
0:22:42 > 0:22:49You know I don't want to come across as too obnoxious.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Hang around with these guys for just a little while and you do get
0:22:52 > 0:22:54the sense that something really is happening here.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55They talk a good game.
0:22:55 > 0:23:01But Jeremy is only a Bitcoin millionaire.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Next stop, a billionaire - recently named by Forbes as one
0:23:04 > 0:23:08of the richest cryptocurrency investors on earth and one who truly
0:23:08 > 0:23:14believes it will change everything.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16This is the future.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19You're not going to use pounds and dollars and euros
0:23:19 > 0:23:21and whatever anymore.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26In five years, you're going to walk into a Starbucks and you're
0:23:26 > 0:23:28going to try and pay the pounds or dollars or euros
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and he or she will laugh at you.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33He or she will laugh at you and they'll say,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36wait a minute, don't you have any Bitcoin?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Tim Draper owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth
0:23:39 > 0:23:41of cryptocurrency himself - so maybe it is in his interest
0:23:41 > 0:23:44to talk up its value.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Mind you, back in 2014, he did predict, almost to the month,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52that the value of one Bitcoin would hit $10,000.
0:23:52 > 0:24:00But now he accepts that that value may be out of control.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Bang the gong.
0:24:02 > 0:24:08It could easily go to one million or 2000 per Bitcoin in any given
0:24:08 > 0:24:13period of time because depending on people's perception and how
0:24:13 > 0:24:16excited they are and how the press portrays it and how governments
0:24:16 > 0:24:22push it around.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25This is the greatest thing that's happened to the world
0:24:25 > 0:24:29economy in centuries.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Depending on who you talk to, you get two very different
0:24:32 > 0:24:38visions of cryptocurrency.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41It's either the future of money, and you should grab it
0:24:41 > 0:24:42and get in early...
0:24:42 > 0:24:43Or...
0:24:43 > 0:24:45This is something to me which is a classic bubble.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47It's an irrational movement in prices and ultimately I think
0:24:47 > 0:24:55investors who put money into this risk losing a lot.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01The process of building a bubble means that individual investors have
0:25:01 > 0:25:03to have almost a religious faith in the future value
0:25:03 > 0:25:10of the crypto currency.
0:25:10 > 0:25:17And because they believe this is going to unlock
0:25:17 > 0:25:20riches in the future, they are prepared to pay more
0:25:20 > 0:25:21and more money for that today.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23And the bubble keeps on inflating.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27At some point either the price becomes too absurd or circumstances
0:25:27 > 0:25:30change or it's revealed that there is not going to be
0:25:30 > 0:25:32any fantastic value in the future and the bubble
0:25:32 > 0:25:40will come crashing down.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43The hype and excitement surrounding the promise of riches is all too
0:25:43 > 0:25:49familiar to this guy.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52The key to making money is to position yourself
0:25:52 > 0:25:54before the settlement.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film The Wolf of Wall Street,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Jordan Belfort made a fortune from persuading ordinary people
0:26:00 > 0:26:03to invest in shares he promised would inflate in value,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05before the scheme collapsed and he pleaded guilty
0:26:05 > 0:26:11to fraud charges in 1999.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13If anyone knows about cons and bubbles, it's Belfort,
0:26:13 > 0:26:19and he doesn't see Bitcoin - or any cryptocurrency - ending well.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24So what would the Wolf have made of Bitcoin?
0:26:24 > 0:26:27God, if I had Bitcoin back when that was, thank god I didn't.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Right, I would have made $50 billion seriously, this is so,
0:26:29 > 0:26:33it's almost a mirror image of what was happening at my company.
0:26:33 > 0:26:39Belfort says he recognises all the signs of market manipulation.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42They're out there putting out these sort of false narratives and these
0:26:42 > 0:26:45half truths that if you read them or hear them and don't fully
0:26:45 > 0:26:49understand the big picture, it is very easy to think
0:26:49 > 0:26:51that they are right, that this thing is going to the stars,
0:26:51 > 0:26:59it's going to be the next big thing and that you throw your money in...
0:27:01 > 0:27:03People are mortgaging their homes, people are taking loans out
0:27:03 > 0:27:05on their credit cards, they're putting their last
0:27:05 > 0:27:06dollars into Bitcoin.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09You know the ones at the end of the day that typically get
0:27:09 > 0:27:11slaughtered the most are the average mums and dads.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15So far, Millie has lost a small amount of money on her trades
0:27:15 > 0:27:17but she is still hoping for good returns.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20I'd like to buy a house, I'd like to leave my
0:27:20 > 0:27:22children lots of money.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26I think I want all the things that other people want,
0:27:26 > 0:27:27just the normal stuff, enough money to open
0:27:27 > 0:27:29a pug sanctuary!
0:27:29 > 0:27:33But maybe the idea of becoming a Bitcoin millionaire
0:27:33 > 0:27:36is a perversion of the real, original intention of Bitcoin -
0:27:36 > 0:27:38to reinvent money - to move power away from the few,
0:27:38 > 0:27:46and give it to the many.
0:27:46 > 0:27:47These currencies are here to stay.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50They might fall in value, they might rise in value
0:27:50 > 0:27:52but the underlying tech is not going anywhere and more
0:27:52 > 0:27:58and more people are going to start using them.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00And I don't think governments are ready for that yet.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03The people behind cryptocurrencies designed an almost perfect way
0:28:03 > 0:28:09to wrest control from the financial system - and governments.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11But I wonder if they expected their model to be
0:28:11 > 0:28:18jumped on by investors, scammers, and criminals.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20And I wonder if they thought they could escape the grip
0:28:20 > 0:28:23of the financial authorities that they so railed against.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25As those authorities start to awake, the battle to impose
0:28:25 > 0:28:33control on cryptocurrencies is only just beginning.