The term “HODL” is generally seen on cryptocurrency Reddit threads, telegram groups, WhatsApp messages, in memes, and slack channels. The most experienced cryptocurrency users would know what this means, while beginners would be left puzzled.

HODL Meaning

Certainly, most of the users assume that the term “hodl” is a misspelling of the word “hold”. But it’s not. It first appeared exclusively in a Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) talk forum in 2013 in a post named “I AM HODLING” from a user named GameKyuubi— a Japanese crypto community member.

HODL essentially means; “Hold on for dear life”. This roughly translates as the “HODLER” believing their coin to be profitable one day and will sit back and never lose coins due to botched trades. If the value of cryptocurrencies increases significantly in the years ahead, it can be worth it to hold onto the crypto as if it were a treasure-trove. Thus HODL!

By the end of the post, GameKyuubi mentions he had some whiskey and definitely was drunk, hence the typos. However, he wanted to communicate the fact that he was holding the hodling despite the downfall in the market.

How did Users Receive the Thread?

A huge thread followed GameKyuubi’s original post on the Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) Talk forum, and that thread extended over 130 pages with new comments being added until summer 2016. This thread led way for the creation of memes by users to describe the concept of hodling coins for the long haul.

This thread has gone on to be publicized over forums, Reddit threads, and slack channels. The term “hodl” has safely entered the crypto community and is now a well-established term.

Should You HODL?

By understanding what the term hodl means and where it came from, it is difficult to answer whETHer someone should hodl or not? It entirely depends on the type of investor – passive or active.

Passive investing: a passive investor invests a small share of his/her money for trading cryptocurrencies, but is not interested in spending much time monitoring the markets. For such customers, crypto is a long-term bet as they assume that someday it will replace traditional currencies.
Active investing: an active investor actively monitors cryptocurrency markets and makes daily, or weekly trades depending on the rise or fall of individual currencies. For such traders, gains are very big, but so are the losses. Most active investors have the potential to make huge money by putting their investment at risk. They also trade cryptocurrencies on a daily basis and lose money easily in the long run.

FOMO

FOMO is a term loosely used in everyday speech and means the “fear of missing out”. FOMO has crept its way into cryptocurrency terminology as it aptly describes the panic buying that occurs with a sudden price increase. Investors fear missing out on a price rally and so they panic buy. In other words, an investor doesn’t want to get left behind if they feel other investors are buying. That is FOMO – you didn’t want to be left behind.

Let’s consider a concrete example: Imagine that BTC goes on a short-term price rally for a day. The coin gains a 10% value in an hour. Rapidly, there would be countless traders trading out their ALTCoins for Bitcoin (available on Coinbase)s. This leads to the price of ALTCoins reducing rapidly and while lending continues, the upward pressure increases the Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) price. This is FOMO – the intense and emotionally erupted investment that seeks to take advantage of certain crypto coins exciting price performance.

Be prepared to see a lot more FOMO-ings as many sectors of the cryptocurrency markets continue to burst into this space like never before.

FUD

FUD refers to “Fear, uncertainty, and doubt”, while some refer to as “Fear, uncertainty, and despair”.

This phrase refers to investors who are uncertain in predicting the potential of a situation. FUD represents an increased sense of panic and anxiety which can spread over the entire crypto community like a wildfire. On many occasions, FUD is unwarranted and exists from paranoia rather than actual occurrences. 

An example of a legitimate FUD which shook the community was during a crucial issue that would affect the markets; China’s announcement of its ban on ICO’s.

ATH

ATH refers to All-Time High. 

This phrase means that the price of a certain cryptocurrency has outperformed and surpassed its past records. If a coin is at it’s all-time high or ATH then it is currently trading at its highest price than ever before.

BEAR

This term is borrowed from the Wall Street folks, which means that a trader or an investor believes the prices of a particular cryptocurrency or market will plunge and wants to profit from that fall.

WHALE/BULL

This term is borrowed from gambling and means that a crypto investor has a massive crypto holding and believes that the market will rise. There is often a lot of speculation that whales/bulls have the ability to manipulate the market for their own personal gains. These people are also referred to as “bullish whales”.

BEARWHALE

This term means that a trader, having collected a mass of crypto holdings, is now bearish on the price of a cryptocurrency.

BAGHODLER

This is an investor or a trader who has been holding (or hodling) for too long a period on a particular cryptocurrency and shall now face the outcomes of this decision.

REKT

REKT is a misspelling of the word “wrecked”, and means that an investor or a trader is extremely ruined and destroyed with losses due to the current downfall of a price.

TO THE MOON 

This term in use looks like this: “The price of this coin will one day go to the moon!” which describes crypto’s upward momentum as the price keeps continuously increasing. It represents a positive outlook for the growth of a coin. 

These terms are used for fun and humor and are collected from various resources like internet and chat rooms.

The staunch believers of HODL think that cryptocurrencies will eventually replace fiat currencies and becomes the core for all economic structures in the future. Due to which, they consider fiat exchange rate of cryptocurrencies as inapt.

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