Interview with Aleksander Mesor CEO, Diamond Foundation
What is the history of Diamond coin?
Diamond has had a very interesting history about its birth. The coin was created on June 13th 2013 but after a few months the developer disappeared leaving the coin to its fate. In December of same year Diamond Community which later on morphed into DMD Diamond Foundation took over the development of the project which lead to consecutive software releases and creation of coin supportive services.
There were many reasons why we chose to develop Diamond. First of all, it makes an excellent brand that can be attractive to businesses and consumers. But also, the word diamond has a lot of connotations; it’s something rare, valuable and hard. That’s why DMD Diamond has been designed to be a wealth storage solution with inbuilt mechanisms to generate even more wealth.
Another great thing about Diamond was there was no pre-mining of coins and the only ‘founders reward’ was long working hours and personal financial investment to keep making DMD a great product we see today.
What are the key events?
It’s seldom a single event that contributes to the success but rather a whole load of small
steps over a long period of time. However, definitely software updates which improved a lot 
on original design and later on created solid foundations for further development were events that were a testament to the hard work and dedication of developers. Not to mention, key team members joining the Foundation bringing their expertise and commitment, the launch of additional services that added value to the DMD Diamond ecosystem and of course moments when Diamond Community was stepping in to help the project grow.
There were many key events in DMD Diamond’s history probably too many to mention and to find out more you can read a book about Diamond’s history that has been recently written. It’s currently available on Amazon – ‘Diamond: The Phoenix of Crypto’ and covers years from 2013 till 2017.
How many developers are working on the project?
DMD Diamond Foundation currently consists of 5 core members. You can visit our DMD project page to see the profiles of some our team members via Linked In. We are very much willing to accept new members to our core team, however some substantial investment in DMD and exceptional commitment to the project are a must.
Continuous and accelerating development of DMD Diamond requires increasingly more time and focus to be put, that is why most of Foundation members are in the transition to work full-time on the project. This will ensure both technical and promotional side of operation to be more effective and efficient.
Also, DMD Diamond team has been networking in cryptocurrency industry for a very long time and created a network of programmers and affiliates who share resources and expertise to combat common issues facing crypto industry. Joint ventures and collaboration in open source projects where resources can be freely shared, improvements audited and innovative ideas discussed creates valuable opportunities for everyone involved.
Are the developers working on Diamond also involved in other projects?
The foundation members are investors in other projects and sometimes play an advisory role in some of them, however, DMD Diamond’s team main preoccupation is DMD Diamond project alone. Before CTO of DMD Diamond joined the Foundation he had developed and still manages BitSend coin; he also worked on other affiliated coins such as BitCore and Europecoin. This only plays to our strengths as having a range of experience with working on a variety of different crypto projects provides us with invaluable knowledge and experience that can be used to make DMD Diamond the best in its class.
How do the Diamond masternodes work? What are the technical specs?
In simple terms Diamond Masternode is a computer (a fully functioning node with a full blockchain), that is always connected to the network and provides extra services for which is compensated by the network protocol.
It is a proven concept originally designed to counteract the effects of blockchain bloat that resulted in decline in the number of full nodes supporting the network. Their aim was to encourage users to keep the network growing and prevent centralization.
However, as the Masternode technology matured it became apparent that it can deliver much more than simply increase the number of participating full nodes and actually extend capabilities of cryptocurrencies in general. DMD Diamond embarked on using this technology as it fit well with the plans to broaden the scope of what is possible with Diamond and add more utility to the coin.
At the moment Diamond Masternodes delivers two types of services – Quick Transactions and Mixing Transactions.
Quick Transactions (Quick TX) service allows for instant 0 confirmation transactions that are approved by the Masternode network. This feature is especially useful to merchants and customers as it provides greater certainty when transacting by creating an additional layer of security.
Another service, Transaction Mixing (MixTX) allows users to improve anonymity of their transactions through the built-in coin mixer tool. Sender can prepare coin piles and mix them with coins of other users so that it is much harder to trace the source address.
These two Layer 2 services are the first ones to be provided by the Diamond Masternodes, however, the current instalment is a technological cornerstone that will allow Diamond to extend and expand many more services in the future.
There are a few prerequisites to run a Masternode. Firstly, one needs to be in possession of 10 000 DMD Diamond coins. These coins never leave your wallet and are only used to prove you have the right to become a Diamond Network service provider. A user can at any time opt out from Diamond Masternode program keeping all the coins.
Thanks to recent community driven initiative even small time investors can participate in Diamond Masternode program. A Shared Masternodes service allows people to pool their coins in order to achieve required collateral amount and receive rewards proportional to their investment.
Also, those users who are time strapped or less tech savvy but have enough coins to run a Diamond Masternode can use Diamond dedicated Masternode Hosting service making the whole setup process hassle free.
Another prerequisite to run a Diamond Masternode is to have a static IP address. This is important because Masternodes are meant to be discoverable and reachable by other participants at all times. However, even those users who would prefer to run a Masternode on their local computer with dynamic IP could do so by using TOR Onion hidden services. All the information on how to set up a Masternode in any network and system configuration can be found on our website where we provided detailed step by step guides.
To run a Masternode doesn’t require a powerful computer, quite contrary, DMD Diamond wallet runs well on a simple low-end, low-powered microcomputer with very small RAM and CPU footprint. This, however, will likely change in the future and more resources might be required to be allocated as DMD Diamond’s ecosystem grows and new additional features and services are hosted.
There are numerous benefits to being in the Diamond Masternode program both direct and indirect. First of all, it’s not only good for Diamond network stability and efficiency making it more robust and safer but also withdrawal of substantial amount of coins from the circulation aids price appreciation which in turn raises value of the investor’s portfolio.
What is more Diamond Masternodes receive 65% of every reward block which is very profitable to their holders. At current prices one such pay-out is enough to cover VPS hosting for the whole month and due to purposefully small number of Diamond Masternodes these pay-outs happen many times a day. This is in contrast to other Masternode coins where sometimes one has wait the whole week before being paid once.
What has the Diamond treasury been used for?
In 2014 DMD Diamond Foundation established a protocol mechanism where part of the development has been covered by network support rewards that came from Proof of Work blocks.
Over the years these coins were used to pay for outsourcing jobs in areas such as graphic design, code development and promotion. Where the funds had gone and for what purpose can be seen by looking at attached Transaction Messages of these transactions.
With the launch of Diamond Masternode network and abandonment of resource hungry Proof of Work consensus mechanism it has been decided that there would be no Masternode Tax as seen in other coins. Instead, the Foundation was granted 5 Masternodes with unspendable coins which compete with other nodes for rewards. Foundation Masternode funds are consolidated into one address which can be vetted in a block explorer: dNuDbQZjEFgmWfARhWqht6daFa1DLF64Uj
All the funds are split accordingly:
30% – Promotion; 30% – Community Projects; 40% – Code development
DMD Diamond Foundation has recently launched a program of co-financing community based projects using the new model with the first three being paid for their valuable contribution. This program is designed to help our community members cover initial costs of development of DMD related projects. If anyone has an idea which involves DMD, something that is useful and interesting for the entire community, please contact us with a proposal and we will consider it.
The list of sponsored or subsidized projects can be seen on the first page of our announcement thread at Bitcointalk Forum. We will prepare a dedicated website for this too, to make budgeting more transparent and easier to follow.
What is unique and the Diamond project compared to other crypto currencies and compared to other Masternode coins?
DMD Diamond is a very focused project with its own unique philosophy. We don’t believe in Swiss knife approach that’s why DMD Diamond stays focused on what it does the best; being a wealth storage solution. The built in consensus mechanism which not only provides the best Proof of Stake security currently available but it also allows investors to earn passively by holding to their Diamond coins at a generous rate – even over 30% interest per annum (depending on competition). Our best and only in the industry automatic coin merge and split mechanism guarantees hassle free, no maintenance approach to passive earning with DMD.
What’s more, DMD Diamond has very low coin supply which is not only limited in number but also supports a deflationary mechanism to make it even harder to accumulate it in the future. This is in line with our belief that if something is scarce and useful the price can only increase over time. Diamond’s corner stone is the design of issuance model which proves to be very successful at keeping the value stable while supportive services such as Diamond Multipool and Diamond Cloud Mining ensure further stability and growth. When it comes to
Masternodes we decided not to impose any taxation on service providers making sure that they keep 100% of their rewards. Because in the future Diamond Masternodes Layer 2 network will play a vital role in powering additional DMD Diamond services we wanted to make sure all participants are properly compensated.
Apart from philosophy of the project and great technical solutions what separates us from other projects is grit, experience and clear vision of our team who has excellent track record of over 4 years of development and networking in crypto industry. This not only ensures that the project is managed responsibly but also gives a great dose of certainty as to its ability to adapt to changes and prevention of network attacks.
What is the most contentious issue about Diamond?
As a no pre-mine, no ICO, no drama project I cannot think of things that invoke strong emotions. DMD Diamond team is very transparent and we inform investors in advance regarding code changes and the direction the development is going. However, as with everything in life, one cannot please every single person and all we can do is to stay focused on providing the best experience to our investors.
What is the roadmap for Diamond? Which new features are being planned to be introduced?
We refrain from providing specific dates as to when certain development will be completed; 
software development, especially in financial industry, is a complex process and there is no room for flaws or mistakes when dealing with people’s money so everything has to be thoroughly tested before being released. However, by the end of 2017 our aim is to upgrade DMD Diamond code base to the newest Bitcoin core; this brings plenty of benefits such as much easier and quicker integration with already established crypto ecosystem infrastructure and services, together with SegWit technology.
This in itself will be a significant development making DMD Diamond one of the industry leaders as a Proof of Stake coin that was able to implement that extremely interesting and useful technology. In the meantime we will release a Diamond Light wallet which will make managing coins more convenient on the go. What’s more, DMD Diamond team is also working on adding DMD to other crypto exchanges to minimize the risk of market speculation, increase exposure and creation of arbitrage opportunities for traders.
In 2018 most of our focus will be put on building decentralized platform on top of DMD Diamond blockchain that would be powered by Layer 2 network of Diamond Masternodes. The platform would enable building of dApps and services with the aim to create more utility and demand for DMD Diamond but also support deflationary mechanisms and introduce new ways of earning with Diamond. In 2019 we would release our own services and open the platform to 3rd party developers.
Also, DMD Diamond in collaboration with partner projects is working on better protection against private key brute force attacks (coming from both classical and quantum computers) by employing upgraded cryptography. In the future DMD Diamond will feature longer address scheme which will make significantly harder for attackers to effectively crack private keys, making the coin an excellent storage of wealth that’s safe against the biggest threat facing cryptocurrencies in the coming years.
Here are the most important DMD Diamond links:
DMD Diamond Home Page – https://bit.diamonds/
DMD Diamond Whitepaper – https://bit.diamonds/DMD_WP_1.0.pdf
DMD Diamond Bittrex page – https://bittrex.com/Market/Index?MarketName=BTC-DMD
DMD Diamond Bitcointalk thread – https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=580725.0Request Request DMD Diamond Slack invite here – https://bit.diamonds/
DMD Diamond multipool – https://multipool.bit.diamonds/
We thank Aleksander Mesor for the interview.
