What Is HODL in Crypto: The Story of HODL

HODL is a quite common word in the world of cryptocurrencies. Anyone who is an active user of crypto forums, guides, or chats has certainly come across it several times. But where does HODL come from and what does it mean? Today, we’ll find out!

The Story of HODL: From the Very Beginning

The HODL journey begun on December 18, 2013. A user named GameKyuubi expressed his anger at the bitcointalk.org forum. He was sitting at home alone, while his girlfriend was in a lesbian bar and the Bitcoin rate crashed. He named the thread at this forum ‘I AM HODLING’. 

At the time, he was well aware that the last two letters switched places. Regardless of his one or two glasses of whiskey, he let the internet world know that he won’t sell his bitcoins under any circumstances. GameKyuubi also stated that he was a bad trader and would always buy or sell at the wrong time anyway. That’s why — hold — he prefers to keep his coins and wait for the next increase.

GameKyuubi didn’t know at the time what kind of hype his forum post was about to cause. Within a few minutes, different users started to post their positive comments on his thread. Because that’s what HODL is all about. It’s just a (conscious) spelling mistake in the English word ‘hold’ for hold/keep.

The crypto community adapted HODL for use in daily life and it became a so-called symbol of holding cryptocurrencies. Whenever someone asked for advice on selling Bitcoin or other cryptos, they usually received an ‘investment tip’ — HODL.

Since this day, another meaning for HODL has developed. Many users see it today as a backronym of ‘Hold on for dear life’ which roughly means ‘hold tight’. 

What Impact Does HODL Have on Crypto Community?

With his forum post, bitcointalk.org user GameKyuubi laid the foundation for a wave of solidarity among crypto enthusiasts to keep their coins and not to sell them. After the post was published, it took a little longer than 10 minutes to create the first HODL meme.

In the crypto world, the advice ‘HODL!’ is now really common. Whenever someone wants to sell their coins, the community advises them not to make a hasty decision and to HODL. Of course, the goods industry has also jumped on the HODL bandwagon. These four letters are now on T-shirts, coffee mugs, and backpacks. 

HODL is therefore synonymous with holding your coins, even if the price falls. This approach is by no means new. This so-called buy & hold strategy has been used with stocks and other assets for a long time. Investors speculate with it to generate profits over a longer period of time. However, this strategy carries the risk that the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will remain in a long-lasting downward trend. This fact doesn’t really contribute to motivation, which leads to big losses.

The best example of this is Greg Schoen, who was a true Bitcoin fan. On May 17, 2011, he was annoyed in his tweet that he had sold 1,700 bitcoins at the exchange rate of $0.30. Right after the sale, the BTC rate increased to $8. Schoen didn’t suffer a loss, but a long-term HODL would have made him a millionaire today. 

How often do you guys HODL? Feel free to share your experience in the comments!

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