It won’t be long before your mother starts asking questions about Bitcoins – that’s how big this thing has gotten in recent weeks. So best you prepare to answer all her questions, with this handy guide.

We’ve put together a basic guide about Bitcoins called getbitcoins.co.za, which, apart from showing you how to get bitcoins and their current value, it also provides information about Bitcoins (news, how/where to spend them, legalities etc).

Bitcoins value over the past year:

To get an idea about why people are losing their minds over Bitcoins, have a look at this, from the Washington Post:

A currency surging in value at a breathtaking rate this week belongs to no nation and is issued by no central bank. It can be used to buy gold in California, a hamburger in Berlin or a house in Alberta. When desired, it can offer largely untraceable transactions.

The coin in question now has a global circulation worth more than $1.4 billion on paper. Yet almost no one, it seems, knows the true identity of its creator.

The currency is bitcoin, a kind of cyber-money initially traded among hackers and cryptologists, and increasingly traded on Web sites and exchanged for goods and services. Two years ago, one bitcoin was worth less than $1. Two months ago, the price for one unit surged above $20 on a proliferation of cyber-exchanges from Tokyo to Moscow. A sudden burst of new interest sent its value soaring to a record $147 on Wednesday.

[more here]

But as with every new buzz in town (on the web), one should always make an informed decision. And whether you count secondhand stories of this guy, or that guy, or that guy’s friend as enough to be ‘informed,’ seasoned professionals wouldn’t advise you put the house on it.

We caught up with Michael Furter, CEO of local wealth management company, Consequence Private Wealth, who had this to say:

“The concept has an obvious attraction due to its novelty value but we would advise our clients to approach with a great deal of caution. As with all limited offerings there is the lure of large gains for early entrants but when sellers start outnumbering buyers value can drop fast. There are interesting similarities to gold as an alternative fiat currency but it’s difficult to gauge the intrinsic value at this stage given the uncertainties around online application. Clearly there have also been some concerns around tax evasion and money laundering. To us right now it would at best be a fun punt with spare cash but not a serious investment.”

Check out getbitcoins.co.za for information, news and links to buy/sell Bitcoins.