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The acronym HODL is a popular cryptocurrency slang term that originated from a typo of the word “hold” on an online forum in 2013. Faced with heightened price volatility, a bitcoin investor wrote a post titled “I AM HODLING,” misspelling the word “holding.” The investor argued in favor of holding their BTC during a market crash.
In response to the post, other users mocked the misspelling of the word “hold” in the post title.
The typo subsequently became commonly used as an acronym for the phrase “hold on for dear life” (HODL). It refers to the belief that cryptocurrency prices will rise over the long term, and investors will profit if they “HODL” through periods of volatility.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts pride themselves on their determination to “HODL” by not selling their coins and tokens even when prices move sharply, or certain projects come into or out of favor.
The concept is the same as a long-term buy-and-hold strategy for investing in stocks. If an investor expects a company to perform well in the future, they can hold a stock for years through multiple price swings, believing that it will ultimately gain value over time.
