Is a diamond ring a symbol of love or a meticulously planned marketing scam? With Bitcoin's digital scarcity versus the artificially inflated price of diamonds, which will modern newlyweds choose? (Previous report: Diamonds are romantic but can they hold value? Prices hit a new low this century, squeezed by supply and demand imbalance and synthetic products.) (Background supplement: Reader submission) This is the scam I encountered, costing me tens of thousands of USDT.) "Don't spend more than $100 on an engagement diamond, buy Bitcoin for your future family instead." When Riot Platforms' Vice President Pierre Rochard threw out this slightly provocative statement on X, the reaction from netizens was not far from expected: some said it was the ranting of cryptocurrency believers, considering it a blasphemy of true love; others applauded, saying someone finally exposed the scam of consumerism. Pierre Rochard posted his engagement ring bought 9 years ago, a lab-grown diamond, all-silver setting, worth $59. But their marriage seems to be going well, directly slapping the netizens who mocked him in the face. Married 9 years. pic.twitter.com/1GjyhCs6rj — Pierre Rochard (@BitcoinPierre) August 7, 2025 Whether you take this as a joke or a sincere financial advice, it unexpectedly touches on a deep cultural context. In 2025, when we want to make an "eternal" promise, what do we need to prove it? Why are we all imagining the metaverse, digital life, AI, brain-computer interfaces, and consciousness uploading? But when we get married, do we still need to buy gold for the bride price? Plus tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dollars in betrothal gifts. The contrast of engagement tokens, on the surface, is a duel between Bitcoin and diamonds, but it is actually a deep dialogue across finance, marketing, sociology, and generational values. It forces us to examine whether the traditions we take for granted are meticulously designed commercial schemes. The True Face of Diamonds as an "Asset" To understand why Bitcoin is being compared to diamonds, we must first return to a fundamental question: What is the essence of a bride price or engagement token? In Han culture, gold has long played an important role, not only as a symbol of wealth but also as a "family reserve fund." Its value lies in high liquidity, ease of valuation, divisibility, and widespread recognition. It is a last resort that can be cashed out in case of a major blow to the family, a final guarantee against future uncertainties. Now let's measure diamonds. Unfortunately, diamonds are a terrible asset in almost every category. First, its liquidity is extremely poor. Once a diamond leaves the jewelry store counter, its resale price immediately plummets, often only 30% to 50% of the original price. There is not even a public, transparent, and standardized second-hand diamond price index in the market, allowing you to understand its true market value like tracking stock prices or gold prices. The diamond ring you buy is more about brand premium, retailer profit, and that carefully packaged "emotional value." After all, you are not buying a large rough stone, nor are you a diamond dealer, so you have no pricing power. Furthermore, the "scarcity" of diamonds is largely the result of artificial manipulation. In the 20th century, De Beers successfully tied a carbon crystal with the same structure as charcoal to love and eternity by monopolizing most of the world's diamond mines and shouting the world-famous brainwashing slogan "A Diamond is Forever." The value of diamonds after that is anchored in marketing narratives rather than inherent, verifiable scarcity. In comparison, although Bitcoin is known for its dramatic fluctuations, it is logically closer to the concept of "digital gold." The total limit of BTC is 21 million coins, a scarcity guaranteed by code that cannot be tampered with by anyone. Bitcoin has global liquidity, can be traded on the chain 24 hours a day, can be divided into very small units, and cannot be snatched from your finger by a stranger. From an asset perspective, choosing Bitcoin is not a fashionable speculation but a rational return to the core function of a "bride price." The 100 years that diamonds have firmly occupied the throne of engagement tokens is more like a historical anomaly built on information asymmetry and marketing monopoly. I wouldn't say that proposing with Bitcoin is more "romantic." This feeling may vary from person to person. For me, proposing with a set of private keys containing one Bitcoin is extremely romantic. Of course, a ring is still necessary, just buy one for around $300. The New Love of Generation Z: Lab-Grown Diamonds The most fatal blow to the diamond industry does not come from cryptocurrency but from technology itself. The rise of Lab-grown Diamonds is fundamentally undermining the "scarcity" story on which natural diamonds depend for survival. Lab diamonds are almost identical to natural diamonds in chemical, physical, and optical properties, and even professional appraisers need to use sophisticated instruments to distinguish them. However, its price is only a fraction of that of comparable natural diamonds, and the price continues to fall as technology matures. According to statistics, lab diamonds currently account for more than 20% of global diamond jewelry sales and are still expanding at a double-digit annual growth rate. This trend directly impacts the foundation of the traditional diamond mining industry, and even diamond giant De Beers announced in 2025 that it would cut its natural diamond production by 26%. Over the past five years, the average market price of natural diamonds worldwide has experienced significant fluctuations. Impacted by the 2019 coronavirus epidemic, diamond prices fell sharply in 2020, then rebounded strongly in 2021, but then weakened in the second half of 2022 and 2023. Factors affecting price increases and decreases include the slowdown in the Chinese economy, adjustments in diamond mine supply, geopolitical events (such as the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on Russian diamond supply), and market competition brought about by the rise of lab-grown diamonds. Rapaport One Carat Natural Diamond Price Index in the overall trend of the past five years: Rapaport One Carat Cut Diamond Price Index (year-end value, 2020=100) The 2020 price index fell significantly, rebounded strongly to a high point in 2021, and then gradually declined in 2022–2024. Simply put, the price trend: Natural diamonds: From the high point in 2022 to 2025, the drop is about 26–40%, and the market is facing a revaluation. Lab-grown diamonds: Starting from 2020, it once plummeted by 74%, and even from the earlier 2016, the drop reached 86%, because it is popular, so the more it is made, the lower the price. What does this mean? It nakedly shows that a large part of the value of diamonds comes from replicable physical properties (that is, beauty and brilliance). When consumers can obtain the same brilliant visual effect at a lower price and in a more environmentally friendly and humanitarian way, the premium built around "hundreds of millions of years of formation" and "gift of the earth" for natural diamonds seems pale and powerless. The proposal choice question for Generation Z becomes clearer: If the purpose is for a beautiful symbol, then affordable lab diamonds can fully handle it. And the large budget saved, whether it is invested in assets that are more resistant to inflation and create future value (such as Bitcoin or index fund ETFs), or used for...

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