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Writer's pictureCory Cleveland

THE BRILLIANCE OF DIAMONDS AS A HARD ASSET W. CORMAC KINNEY EP. 119

Updated: Jun 5, 2023




Cormac Kinney is the Founder and CEO of Diamond Standard. Cormac has no shortage of achievements! Some noteworthy accomplishments include selling a company to Oracle in his senior year at Carnegie Mellon, coining the phrase “heat maps,” and being a pioneer in the field of financializing diamonds.


For thousands of years, people see diamonds as a valuable store of wealth. The diamond industry today is worth around $60 billion dollars a year.

Yet, the market is notorious for its complications and difficulty to quantifying. Through his company, Diamond Standard, Cormac is changing that!


“In finance, opinions are worthless. The only thing that has value is cash on the barrelhead.” — Cormac Kinney [0:32:32]

Diamond Standard was created as the world's first and only regulated diamond commodity. The company helps investors access this natural resource by unlocking diamonds as a market-traded asset.

Tune in today to hear about Cormac’s journey with Diamond Standard. You'll also learn what the financialization process of diamonds consists of. Cormac provides examples of how this impacts the market value of a commodity, and more!


KEY POINTS FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • The three businesses that Cormac founded during his time at university.

  • Cormac explains what led him into the world of diamonds.

  • Factors that make diamonds challenging to commodify.

  • An overview of what Cormac’s company, Diamond Standard, does.

  • A brief history of diamonds.

  • The size of the diamond industry today.

  • Two case studies state how the financialization of a commodity impacts the market value of the commodity.

  • What Cormac’s journey with Diamond Standard has looked like to date.

  • The Electronic Diamond Exchange that Cormac and his team built.

  • How Diamond Standard utilizes the blockchain.

  • Cormac’s experiences of raising money throughout his entrepreneurial journey.

  • Challenges that Diamond Standard has faced.






LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE:


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