What Does Diamond Hands Mean?

By Lyle Daly – Updated Jun 17, 2025 at 12:15 PM EST

Key Points

"Diamond hands" signifies holding volatile investments despite sell pressure.
Originated on Reddit, it's popular among high-risk asset investors.
Useful for weathering downturns, but risky investments shouldn't dominate your portfolio.

If you spend enough time in certain corners of the internet, you'll run into creative investing phrases. One recent example is "diamond hands," which serves as equal parts investing strategy and life philosophy.

"Diamond hands" is a slang term that refers to holding a volatile investment even when there's pressure to sell. It's popular with high-risk assets such as cryptocurrency and meme stocks. Despite the humorous intent behind it, there are select situations where it's good to have diamond hands.

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An infographic explaining the difference between the investing terms "diamond hands" and "paper hands." — Image source: The Motley Fool

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Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is decentralized and secure digital money, based on blockchain technology, that offers new investment opportunities.

Still, when you invest in risky assets, the diamond hands approach can be a good idea. In this situation, you might need to weather tough times before your investments pay off. Many believe, for example, that cryptocurrency is a good investment even with the risks, but only if you're willing to hold for the long term.

It's crucial to note that high-risk investments should never make up a large portion of your portfolio. Keep most of your money in more stable, proven assets such as the stock market. If you want to spice up a balanced portfolio, you can devote 5% to 10% of it to crypto, meme stocks, or anything else you like -- and maybe those diamond hands will pay off for you down the road.

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About the Author

Lyle Daly is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering information technology and cryptocurrency. Lyle has been a contributor at the financial services company since 2018. His work has been featured on USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, Fox Business, and Nasdaq. Before joining The Motley Fool, he wrote for financial brands including Intuit.

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Lyle Daly has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.