The Bitcoin boom is the gold rush of our digital age, and barely a day goes by without some sort of shockwave that has buyers in a panic or throwing a party.

But what exactly is cryptocurrency and how does it generate profit? It’s a question many investors struggle to answer.

This Sunday, in the return of 60 Minutes, reporter Tom Steinfort investigates the cryptocurrency revolution.

He speaks to the key players in the cryptocurrency game – the devout Bitcoin believers and their cynics – and uncovers claims the latest crypto-coin to hit the market is going to make $80 million from mum and dad investors in Australia.

Chris O’Shea is a “self-made” millennial millionaire who’s adamant that Bitcoin and its spin-off currencies are the end of banking as we know it.

Chris O’Shea is a “self-made” millennial millionaire who’s adamant that Bitcoin and its spin-off currencies are the end of banking as we know it. (60 Minutes)

With a paper fortune fluctuating around the $20 million mark, 30-year-old O’Shea has transformed his life.

The former pub manager from Mount Druitt in Sydney’s west and his girlfriend now enjoy a lavish lifestyle, driving Range Rovers and perusing luxury yachts – all from investing in the digital currency.

“What do you say to the sceptics who claim that this is all a bubble and you're heading for doom?” Steinfort asked.

“Go f--- yourselves,” O’Shea bluntly replied.

Old school trader Craig Cobb, weighs in on the crypto debate, telling Steinfort we can compare the trend of cryptocurrency with the dotcom boom and bust from the 1990s.

“It’s like a Ponzi scheme in many ways where people are encouraged to put money in, and those at the top who know what they're doing will take that money away at the top of the pile, and leave everybody else scrabbling around". (60 Minutes)

The dotcom bubble saw hype around new technology drive worthless companies into the stratosphere. And when it all came crashing down, millions lost out.

But as Steinfort reports, from the dotcom ruins arose the titans of today’s global economy like Amazon, eBay and Google. And so Cobb says it will go with cryptocurrency.

“When the internet came out, everyone was saying it won't take off, no one will be connected to their computers, nothing would work,” Cobb said.

“When it did catch on the whole world adopted it, bam.”

Despite industry insiders spruiking the highs, the reality is that the confusion and misinformation surrounding the phenomenon has become a playground for scammers.

The trend of cryptocurrency has been compared to the dotcom boom and bust from the 1990s. (60 Minutes)

Steve Worthington, a professor from Swinburne University, said the frenzy to make easy money is fertile ground for scammers targeting ordinary investors who’ve got next to no idea how cryptocurrency actually works.

“It’s like a Ponzi scheme in many ways where people are encouraged to put money in, and those at the top who know what they're doing will take that money away at the top of the pile, and leave everybody else scrabbling around,” he said.

With more and more uninformed investors participating in the cryptocurrency boom, there are increasing avenues for exploitation.

And as Steinfort reports, there is even a questionable cryptocurrency scheme in our own backyard.

While researching for this story, 60 Minutes discovered a self-promoted “Bitcoin guru” was encouraging his thousands of followers to sign up with him to a new cryptocurrency scheme.

A questionable cryptocurrency scheme exists in our own backyard. (60 Minutes)

However, this latest coin – “Auscoin” – would see management reap an eye-watering $80 million from everyday investors based on some astonishing claims, which 60 Minutes reveals are simply not true.