Billion-year-old, 555-carat Enigma diamond with 55 sides is bought by mystery buyer for £3.16million in crypto
A BILLION-year-old 555-carat diamond that has baffled scientists has been flogged to a mystery buyer for an eye-watering £3.16million in cryptocurrency.
The peculiar black 55-side gem - aptly named The Engima as its origins remain unclear - is thought to be the world's largest diamond and has never before been sold.
''It's the ultimate party trick - just imagine revealing to your guests you are the owner of the world's largest cut diamond.
''The size, shape and source of the Enigma diamond make it groundbreaking and amazing. ''
The Enigma is a carbonado - a type of diamond usually used in industrial drilling due to their extraordinary hardness.
One of the rarest forms of diamond, and as they contain a mineral only found in meteors - known as osbornite - it is believed they originate from outer space.
The Enigma's new owner has not been identified by Sotheby's, but entrepreneur Richard Heart claimed on Twitter he had bagged the gem.
He boasted to his 182,000 followers that "as soon as the payment has gone through and possession's been taken", it will be renamed the "HEX.com diamond" - after the blockchain platform he founded.
The precious gem was listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest diamond in 2006.
Stephen Haggerty, a professor of earth and environment at Florida International University, has said he is convinced of the diamond's "non-Earth genesis."
"There has not been a single, scientifically sound alternative to the [extraterrestrial] origin of carbonado," he added.
Some popular theories include the diamond breaking off a part of an asteroid that collided with Earth and being born from a meteoric impact.
The gemstone is also cut with 55 facets in honor of the Middle Eastern Hamsa: a palm-shaped amulet meant to serve as protection for all who wear it.