Crypto glossary
HODL
HODL is crypto slang for holding an asset for the long term instead of selling during price swings, born from a misspelled 2013 forum post.
The term comes from a December 2013 post on the Bitcointalk forum titled "I AM HODLING", written by a user frustrated after a sharp bitcoin price drop. The typo became a meme, and the community later turned it into the backronym "hold on for dear life".
As a strategy, HODL means buying an asset and keeping it through bull and bear markets, based on the belief that its long-term value will be higher than any short-term trading gains. Long-term holders often keep their coins in self-custody, frequently in a cold wallet, and on-chain analysts track coins that have not moved for a year or more as a measure of this behavior.
The approach is simple, but it requires tolerating deep drawdowns and offers no protection if the asset never recovers.
Example
A buyer who purchased bitcoin in 2017, held through the 2018 and 2022 crashes and never sold is a typical HODLer, judging success over years rather than weeks.
Related terms
Latest articles on HODL
- Bitcoin Mining Giant Co-Founder Moves Millions to Binance, Sparking HODL Fears
- UK Firm B HODL Adds 100 BTC to Balance Sheet in $11.3M Move
- Bitcoin and Ethereum Supplies on Exchanges Reach Historic Lows Amid HODL Trend
- Bitcoin HODL Record: Illiquid Supply Reaches 14M BTC as Bull Run Accelerates
- Tesla Stumbles on Revenue, Yet HODLs 11,509 BTC Worth Over a Billion
