Here is a thought. Why not use https://www.coinbase.com/ instead of doing the high commission stock trades? It seems to me, another thing to try is cryptocurrencies on coinbase. I studied them when they first came out 3 years ago from my dentist, an Indian woman who is also a goldbug. The other names she mentioned like Nvidia have also sly— ooops I mean skyrocketed. Much of this has to do with the younger generation’s trends, for better or worse. That’s the reality.
Lets get a few things straight. Ya, it sucks you need a buncha computers hooked up to mine the coins. I think Coinbase does this for you though. But it does take a lot of energy to produce them in that regard. that does not bother me since mining gold or silver also uses energy, just in different forms. Something of value should require energy to produce after all. Also, they are not really coins at all. They are a digital technology, strictly speaking, based off of block-chain technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain
It has to do with cryptography. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography
Crytography has to do with encoding things like patents, to protect them. My uncle was a founder of Infosafe back in the day. He was ahead of all this shit.
https://www.corporationwiki.com/California/Hayward/infosafe-inc/42484569.aspx
Though I prefer buillion and hard assets typically, crypto’s do have explosive potential and are speculative, therefor you do not have to invest a large sum. Rather, a small amount would be a more prudent investment. Of course they could crash. cyber hacking, power outages, viruses etc . I think the blockchain technology has something to it though. It is good in terms of diversification , and will likely provide a way to profit during an economic downturn or upturn (either way). All the guys on the finance channel have moved into them . They say so on the air at least. It has gone mainstream.
Lets face it, Bitcoin and Ethereum are pyramid schemes at this point. Over-priced! But the blockchain technology is legit and will likely persist well into the future.
Dog E Coin and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogecoin
&
Lite Coin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litecoin 
These are still undervalued by a lot (is my thinking), and their communities will likely be around for a long time. Whoppercoin came out 2 weeks ago and is the first corporate issued crypto currency ever! It is a basically a great buy in my opinion. Having a well known corporation behind it makes it so that there is an entity responsible for it. That way it is not some entity-less facet.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/28/burger-king-russia-cryptocurrency-whoppercoin.html
I do not have crypto currencies myself. just bullion and mining stocks. But I am increasingly wanting to get invested a small amount in lesser known butwell established cryptos, mostly in order to diversify.
This article is just my opinion and I do not own any of the cryptos at all as of yet. Do your own research, and invest at your own peril or profit.