What does HODL mean?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 4 min
In short
HODL means holding on to a coin instead of selling when the price falls. It began as a typo for 'hold' in a 2013 forum post and is slang, not a technical term. Holding long term is a legitimate approach, but the slogan quietly discourages people from ever reconsidering a position.
Key points
- Born as a misspelling of 'hold' on a forum in 2013
- Describes refusing to sell during a decline
- A slogan, not a reason to hold anything
- Can delay cutting losses or rebalancing
Definition
Slang for continuing to hold an asset through price declines. It spread from a 2013 Bitcoin forum post in which the writer mistyped 'hold'.
The origin is well documented. In December 2013, during a sharp Bitcoin decline, a forum user posted under the title 'I AM HODLING'. It was a typo for 'holding', but the sentiment — do not panic sell — carried, and the word stuck. The later gloss 'Hold On for Dear Life' is a backronym invented after the fact.
In practice HODL is used much like 'buy and hold'. Trading frequently adds fees and record-keeping, so a long holding period can be a reasonable stance in itself. That reasoning only works, though, if you chose the position size deliberately in the first place.
The trouble is that the word often becomes the reason itself. Telling someone underwater to 'just HODL' says nothing about what the project does, how much cash they have left, or what the loss would mean for their life. Whether to keep holding is a question about your own tolerance for loss, not about a catchphrase.
Watch out for
- · Nothing guarantees that a fallen price ever returns
- · Holding on with money you need to live on is riskier than selling
- · People who tell you to HODL know nothing about your finances