What does HODL mean?

HODL: I know you’ve seen it on Twitter (X) or Instagram, or heard someone on CNBC jokingly referring to it, but what does it actually mean?  It might sound like a typo, but the reality is it’s much, much more than that. Over the years it has become a meme adopted by crypto enthusiasts as well as a symbol of resilience in the Bitcoin markets.

In fact, the HODL meme all started on a  Bitcoin forum on December 18th, 2013:

Yes, HODL was born out of a drunken rant!  The user, GameKyuubi, misspelled “I AM HOLDING’ in the title to a post where he vows to resist the urge to sell even though all the price changes.  The first couple sentences, make it that much better: 

I type d that tyitle twice because I knew it was wrong the first time.  Still wrong.  w/e.

Immediately the rest of the users on the forum picked it up and ran with it.  A few hours later, Gamekyuubi posted this:

Since then, HODL has been a term used to represent the idea of investing for the long term and holding onto your Bitcoin through thick and thin.

There you have it. The birth of HODL fits snuggly within the history of internet memes. Is ‘hodling’ the best investment strategy for Bitcoin? Should you become a ‘hodler’? That’s for you to decide.  Either way, at least you know that Bitcoiners are not writing typos in their posts!