Fascinating documentary exploring a secretive character known by the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto, who launched the world's greatest monetary invention - and then disappeared

​Whether you believe cryptocurrency is the future or just too confusing to give much thought to, the two-part documentary Seeking Satoshi: The Mystery Bitcoin Creator could provide an eye-opening look at some of the issues around it, and how many people see it as more than just an investment opportunity.

It lays out how Bitcoin first emerged in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto.

Three years later, Satoshi disappeared, and their identity remains the biggest mystery in tech. Now podcaster and journalist Gabriel Gatehouse is on a mission to find out more. He starts by following an unexpected tip-off, which takes him to a mega-gathering of Bitcoin enthusiasts in Miami, and then to a Caribbean island, where two ageing hackers warn him to steer clear.

His next stop on his quest is the libertarian heartland of New Hampshire. He discovers that libertarians have embraced Bitcoin because they see it as a way of starving governments of taxes.

However, that’s just start of their ambitions. They also want to completely change the world, by getting rid of democratic nation states, colonising the cosmos – and merging humans with machines.

Once upon a time that may have sounded a little far-fetched, but as Gabriel points out in this documentary, now that Donald Trump is in the White House and Elon Musk appears to have his ear, ideas that once seemed like the preserve of tech experts’ wildest dreams are now moving closer to the mainstream.

Has Gabriel uncovered a much bigger story than just finding out who Satoshi really is?

If he has, he’s arguably the right person to unravel it. Gabriel has previously been praised for his podcast The Coming Storm, which examined the rise of conspiracy culture and its impact on US politics.

As he told The Guardian last year while talking about his book, also entitled The Coming Storm, when it comes to conspiracy theories “you don’t take them literally, but you take them seriously. A conspiracy theory tells you something about society.”

So, what will the second part, which airs on Wednesday, tell us? Well, it sees the presenter finding out more about what a Bitcoin future could look like as he travels to a private city state off the coast of Honduras – a community where tech bros rule.

He learns that these people are building an alternative world, free from governments, and an incubator for a new world order – and it’s all fuelled by crypto cash.

Gabriel asks whether this is what Satoshi envisioned, and does some more digging to find out who the Bitcoin creator is and what they believed.

The search leads to a cryogenic freezing lab where one suspect hopes to conquer death so they can be revived in the sci-fi future of their dreams.

As with so much in this documentary (and some people may suggest, life in general) it may once have seemed outlandish, but could technological advances make it a reality?