Glossary
What does HODL mean?
In one sentence
HODL means holding a crypto asset through price swings rather than trading it. It began as a typo for "hold" in 2013.
The term comes from a 2013 forum post titled “I AM HODLING”, written by someone frankly admitting they were a poor trader and would simply hold instead. It stuck, and was later backronymed to “hold on for dear life”.
The strategy behind it has a genuine basis: most people trade badly, buying after rises and selling during falls, and frequent trading incurs fees and tax events. Simply holding avoids a lot of self-inflicted damage.
The failure mode is treating it as a rule that overrides thinking. “HODL” applied to a project that has failed, been abandoned, or was fraudulent from the start is not discipline — it is a way of avoiding an unpleasant decision. Holding makes sense when your original reasoning still holds; it stops making sense when the facts have changed and you are holding to avoid admitting a loss.
For example
HODL is a temperament, not a strategy — it says nothing about which asset deserves holding.