Diamond Standard Launches Spot Market for Fungible Coins

Providing liquidity for the breakthrough diamond asset class 

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Diamond Standard Inc., developer of the world's only regulator-approved diamond commodities, today announced the launch of the Diamond Standard Spot Market, enabling free and instant trading of Diamond Standard Coins.

Each Diamond Standard Coin contains a blockchain token, stored on a wireless chip inside the transparent plastic coin, underneath the fungible set of diamonds. Whoever owns this regulator-licensed token, owns the commodity, and can take delivery at any time.

The Diamond Standard Spot Market is a peer-to-peer marketplace with a centralized limit order book, where individuals or market-makers can trade the Diamond Standard tokens for USDC stablecoins, issued by Circle and pegged to U.S. dollars. Thanks to the efficiency of blockchain transactions, there are no transaction fees for the trading.

The Spot Market is offered by DS Admin Trust, a Delaware Trust that manages the custody of  Diamond Standard commodities at Brinks, for their owners and traders. Unlike shares held by brokers or cryptocurrency held by exchanges, the Diamond Standard tokens are held in digital wallets directly controlled by the owners.

"The Diamond Standard Spot Market is a huge leap forward for diamonds as an asset class. Trades have on average been within 1% of the spot price on Bloomberg, showing that our commodities are truly fungible. A Diamond Standard Coin is 'marked-to-market' daily, and trades with dramatically less 'friction' than loose diamonds, which can be 20-40%, through an auction house, pawn shop, or jeweler," said Cormac Kinney, Founder and CEO of Diamond Standard.

"Via this spot market, Diamond Standard is forging a new source of demand for diamonds while increasing participation and liquidity, key ingredients for investors and efficient markets," said Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond industry analyst.

Diamond Standard Spot Market in Action

• Provides instant liquidity for owners of Diamond Standard commodities.
• Enables market-based price discovery via live bidding.
• Trades settle instantly via the blockchain token embedded inside every Coin.
• Tokens are self-custodied in the digital wallet of the owner. In a trade, assets are transferred from seller to buyer. The Spot Market does not custody users' assets.
• To bid, users must have USDC tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.
• Does not currently charge any transaction fees. Buyers become responsible for custody fees, currently $36/year/coin, and physical delivery fees if requested.

While Diamond Standard's offerings of commodities and tokens are overseen by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the Spot Market is not — it is a U.S. based venue.

Diamond Standard is the creator of the world's only regulator-approved diamond commodities. By unlocking diamonds as a market-traded asset, Diamond Standard is providing access to a natural resource currently worth $1.2 trillion – more than the value of silver and platinum combined. A breakthrough hard asset that can be transacted as a blockchain token, the diamond commodity provides diversification, potential inflation protection, and a new store of wealth for institutional and individual investors, while bringing transparency and efficiency to the diamond supply chain. To invest brilliantly, visit www.diamondstandard.co

For media inquiries:
Monika Ploc
Head of Communications
Diamond Standard
[email protected] 

SOURCE Diamond Standard