Your ultimate guide to buying, selling and storing Bitcoin Diamond.
Sporting the tagline “Better bitcoin”, Bitcoin Diamond (BCD) was launched in November 2017 and promised to offer faster transactions, lower transaction fees and increased privacy. Formed following a hard fork of bitcoin at block 495866 (for those playing along at home), Bitcoin Diamond has since grown to become one of the world’s top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap size.
So, how can you buy Bitcoin Diamond, where should you store your coins and what should you consider before purchasing? Read on to find out.
Where to buy Bitcoin Diamond
Bitcoin Diamond can be purchased from a decent selection of cryptocurrency exchanges, including:
A step-by-step guide to buying Bitcoin Diamond
If you want to buy Bitcoin Diamond, you can do so in a few simple steps:
Step 1. Register for an account on an exchange that lists BCD
Check out the list of exchanges in the comparison table above to find a selection of exchanges that list BCD in one or more currency pairs. After comparing your options, choose a platform that meets your needs and register for an account.
Some platforms will only require your email address and password, but many others will also require your name, contact details, nationality and proof of ID before allowing you to trade. It’s also a good idea to activate 2-factor authentication to provide enhanced security for your funds.
Step 2. Deposit funds into your account
While things change rapidly in the crypto world, it’s not likely that there’s an exchange available to convert your USD directly for BCD. If that’s the case, you’ll first need to obtain a cryptocurrency listed in a currency pair with BCD, such as bitcoin (BTC). For advice on how to buy bitcoin, check out our comprehensive guide.
To deposit BTC into your account, copy your exchange wallet address, and then paste it as the destination when transferring coins from your BTC wallet.
Step 3. Buy BCD
The final stage of the process is to navigate to the “Exchange” or “Markets” section of your chosen platform. Search for your desired currency pair, such as BCD/BTC, review the current purchase price and then enter the amount of BCD you’d like to buy.
Don’t forget to check all the details of your purchase carefully, including the total cost, before completing the transaction.
How to sell Bitcoin Diamond
If you want to sell your BCD coins, you can do so by following a similar process to that outlined in step 3. Just remember to click on the link to “Sell BCD” rather than buy, and once again make sure to review all transaction details before submitting.
It’s also important to point out that BCD is only available in a limited range of currency pairs, so it may not be possible to exchange your BCD immediately for the coin or token you want.
Which wallets can I use to hold Bitcoin Diamond?
If you’re planning on trading your BCD soon, you may simply want to store your coins in your exchange wallet. But, due to the fact that exchange wallets don’t allow you to control your private key and also come with a host of security risks, they are often not used for long-term storage.
Most users in the cryptocurrency community advise transferring your coins and tokens away from an exchange and into your own wallet. However, before choosing a wallet, check the fine print to make sure it actually supports BCD coins. Examples of wallets you could consider include Bitpie and BitGo.
Learn more about storing cryptocurrency in our ultimate wallets guide.
How Bitcoin Diamond works
Hard forks of bitcoin were increasingly popular in 2017. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was created in August and to date has been the most successful, and Bitcoin Gold (BTG) followed in October. Then, on 11/24/17, Bitcoin Diamond joined the party.
So, why fork off from the world’s largest and best-known cryptocurrency? The creators of Bitcoin Diamond claim they wanted to tackle several perceived shortcomings of bitcoin, including:
- Slow transaction processing times
- High transaction processing fees
- Lack of privacy
To achieve these goals, the maximum block size is increased to 8MB, a sizable increase on bitcoin’s 1MB, and BCD uses an X13 algorithm to engage GPU miners. Encrypted transaction amounts and user balances are also offered for increased privacy.
BCD coins were distributed to BTC holders when the hard fork occurred at a rate of 10 BCD for every 1 BTC.
Check out the table below for a rundown of the differences between bitcoin, Bitcoin Diamond and other bitcoin forks.
| Bitcoin | Bitcoin Cash | Bitcoin Gold | Bitcoin Diamond | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum supply | 21 million | 21 million | 21 million | 210 million |
| Distribution | Mining | Mining, claiming | Mining, claiming | Mining, claiming |
| Mining algorithm | SHA256 (ASIC) | SHA256 (ASIC) | Equihash (GPU) | X13 (GPU) |
| Maximum block size | 1MB | 8MB | 1MB | 8MB |
| Maximum transactions per day | ~1.2 million | ~4.8 million | ~1.2 million | ~4.8 million |
| Created | 2009 | August 2017 | October 2017 | November 2017 |
What to consider if buying Bitcoin Diamond
Cryptocurrencies are complicated and volatile assets, so buying or selling any coin or token comes with a high level of risk attached. Before you buy Bitcoin Diamond, make sure you conduct a balanced assessment of all the factors that could have an impact on the price of this new digital currency.
Some of the issues you’ll need to take into account include:
- Supply. According to CoinMarketCap, at the time of this writing (April 2018) Bitcoin Diamond had a circulating supply of 153,318,000 BCD out of an available supply of 156,318,000 BCD. Maximum supply is capped at 210 million, 10 times the amount of bitcoin’s maximum limit.
- Anonymous team. The team behind Bitcoin Diamond has so far remained anonymous, which is far from unusual for a cryptocurrency project, but it may raise red flags for some prospective buyers.
- Criticism. Some crypto enthusiasts have criticized BCD, and a host of other bitcoin forks for that matter, for simply trying to cash in on the prestige of the bitcoin name. It’s up to you to decide whether the coin is just a quick cash grab or whether it’s actually trying to solve some very real problems with bitcoin.
- Too many bitcoin spin-offs. The differences between bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Diamond and all the other similarly named coins can be confusing and even overwhelming for crypto newcomers, which could potentially affect the uptake of BCD.
- Ability to achieve widespread adoption. Bitcoin Diamond certainly offers some key advantages over bitcoin including faster transactions and a higher level of privacy. However, whether or not these advantages will be enough to encourage widespread demand for and adoption of BCD remains to be seen.
Bearing in mind the above while considering your own research, you should be well positioned to decide whether Bitcoin Diamond is a buy or whether it’s a coin to be avoided.
Image source: Shutterstock
Disclosure: At the time of this writing, the author holds IOTA and XLM.
