Diamond Hands
what it means
Written as 💎🙌. "Paper hands" is the opposite — selling at the first sign of trouble, treated as a moral failing within the communities that use the term.
Holding an investment through heavy losses rather than selling.
the origin story
Emerged in retail investing communities on Reddit, becoming globally visible during the January 2021 GameStop episode.
The GameStop short squeeze made it briefly one of the most-used phrases on the internet, and it became emblematic of retail investing as a collective identity project. Financial regulators and commentators noted the obvious risk: the language rewards holding losses as a virtue.
in the wild
It's down 60%.
Diamond hands 💎🙌
I sold at the first dip.
Paper hands. Couldn't be me.
how to use it
- Discussing retail investing culture
- Referencing the 2021 GameStop episode
- Casual conversation about investing
- As investment advice — holding losses is not automatically correct
- Professionally in financial contexts
- To pressure someone into keeping a losing position
related terms
receipts
Community feedback
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