Cryptocurrency - Fastest Way to Start

Bitcoin is receiving attention from investors, techies, governments, and news agencies. Several friends and colleagues have asked me about investing in Bitcoin recently. For everyone looking to invest, I am providing this quick summary.
First, Bitcoin is one of many cryptocurrencies in the budding universe of digital currency. There are hundreds of other cryptocurrencies out there -- not just Bitcoin -- with values ranging from fractions of a penny per unit to billions of dollars of market capitalization.
Even at record high prices, I'm still very bullish on Bitcoin and Ethereum, and slightly bullish on Litecoin. I think Bitcoin and Litecoin will become stores of value, much like gold and silver, and Ethereum will eventually become a widely accepted international currency.
I believe there is also a great deal of money to be made in other cryptocurrencies. Monero is one I think has solid upside potential. But, keep in mind there is high risk as well. Some of the cryptocurrencies floating around today will be completely worthless a year from now, so do your homework before investing.
So, if you're new to all this, there's two ways for you to start investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies: Buy it or Mine it.
MINING CRYPTO: Most cryptocurrency can be "mined" by anyone with a computer -- or even a smartphone. Mining is essentially using your excess computer (hashing) power to create cryptocurrency out of nothing. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. Essentially, the only cost to mine cryptocurrency is the electricity your computer consumes.
Now, you're not going to make a fortune overnight by mining (unless you have some supercomputers sitting around), but it's a good way to slowly and steadily get into cryptocurrency investing. Depending on the currency you mine, and with a little luck, you can make a very good return on investment over a long period of time.
The easiest and most user-friendly mining software I've found is MinerGate. It's designed for a novice to be up and running in no time, but it's also a solid platform for experienced miners. It has a "smart mining" feature, which checks for what coin is the most profitable to mine based on current exchange rates. It has a simple graphical interface, and is great for beginners.
Here's the link to start mining: https://minergate.com/a/b734fedf0721f39868288614
Oh, and forget about mining Bitcoin. Profitable Bitcoin mining now requires special rigs that cost many thousands of dollars, and it's not even remotely cost-effective to do it on a PC or Mac. Mining currencies like Monero or Etherium offer a much better return on investment. You can then exchange them for Bitcoin if you choose.
BUYING CRYPTO WITH $: The other way to get started in cryptocurrency investing is to simply buy it. I've used several exchanges to buy and sell cryptocurrency, but probably the easiest for a beginner is CoinBase. Once you setup an account, you can purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC), which I consider the big three and the most stable.
Here's the link to start investing: https://www.coinbase.com/join/593345938331aa564f0cdacd
Full Disclosure: This is my 100% honest assessment, and I personally use these services. However, I also make a few bucks if you sign up for an account with either CoinBase or Minergate. So, if you're interested, do me a solid and use the links above, because we're all capitalists here.
Also, if you have any questions, post them in the comments below. I'm glad to help.