Beginner Series
HODL Meaning: Hold On for Dear Life
The term HODL began as an accidental (beverage induced) misspelling of ‘hold’. But it has come to also mean ‘Hold On (for) Dear Life’ in crypto.
It’s definitely a crypto native term. While Wall Street executives make long-term investments and Wall Street Bets traders have diamond hands. in crypto, we HODL.
And it pays to HODL. While there is incredible volatility in crypto, investors have earned the best returns of any asset class in the world simply by hodling their coins, as you can see in these bitcoin success stories.
What does HODL mean in crypto? HODL Definitions
While the term initially was a direct reference to ‘hold’, in true crypto style, the term was ‘hard forked’ and now carries several meanings. Still, they all carry the same ethos.
Here’s what HODL means in crypto:
- HODL = HOLD
- Hold On (for) Dear Life
- The act of holding bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin or other cryptocurrencies and refusing to sell.
- A rallying call in the crypto community to encourage people to keep holding their coins even when there are price drops or a bear market begins.
Synonyms: Diamond hands, long-term investment, time in the market beats timing the market, to the moon, long for the culture
Where does HODL come from?
Back in 2013, someone with the username GameKyuubi made a post on the BitcoinTalk forum. After a few whiskeys, they misspelled “I AM HOLDING” and wrote “I AM HODLING” instead. Other users found his spelling mistake hilarious and they became ‘hodlers’ too. Almost a decade later, the crypto meme is still going strong.
Why do people in crypto love to HODL their coins?
Cryptocurrency has been the best performing asset class of the past decade. If you simply bought bitcoin ten years ago and held it until today, you would have made incredible returns. So the reason people HODL crypto is simple; it seems to pay to be a hodler.
Notably, the accidental creator of the HODL meme, GameKyuubi, had a point to make about holding/ hodling:
You only sell in a bear market if you are a good day trader or an illusioned noob. The people in-between hold. In a zero-sum game such as this, traders can only take your money if you sell.
What he’s suggesting is, that unless you’re a great trader, the HODL investment strategy can be a good option in crypto.
Still, there are other reasons people choose hodling as their investment strategy, such as:
- Limiting their taxable events
- Not having to monitor the market 24/7
- Helping prevent greed and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
Moreover, many investors believe that it’s still early days for crypto and there are still incredible gains to be made. They’re holding for the long-term and looking to build life-changing wealth.
What if you don’t want to HODL? Then it’s time to SPEDN or BUIDL
Inspired by the misspelling of HODL, crypto communities also encourage each other to SPEDN (spend) or BUIDL (build). Much like the HODL meme, they’re intended to help grow the crypto space.
SPEDN encourages people to use cryptocurrencies in the real world to buy goods and services, or simply to pay their bills with crypto. This is important as it can help spur adoption of crypto as a payment method. Meanwhile, BUIDL encourages people to roll up their sleeves and build decentralised applications, platforms and tools that improve the crypto ecosystem.
Thinking of HODLING?
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