What is HODL?
Crypto slang for holding long-term through volatility instead of trading (born from a 2013 forum typo of "hold").
HODL began as a typo — a famously unhinged 2013 forum post titled "I AM HODLING", written mid-crash by someone who'd decided he was a terrible trader and would simply hold. The community adopted the misspelling as a philosophy, later backronymed to "Hold On for Dear Life": don't trade the swings, just accumulate and endure.
Beneath the meme is a real observation — most retail traders underperform simply-holding because they sell panics and buy euphorias. Holding through volatility avoids those self-inflicted wounds and, in Australia, adds a concrete bonus: parcels held past 12 months earn the 50% CGT discount. What HODL doesn't do is turn a bad asset good; conviction is only worth what the thing you're holding is worth. The graveyard is full of coins people held all the way down.
See it in practice
Related terms: Dollar-cost averaging · Capital gains tax (CGT) · Bitcoin · full glossary
FAQ
Is HODLing a good strategy?
For assets with a genuine long-term case, holding avoids the timing mistakes that destroy most retail returns, and earns the CGT discount here in Australia. Applied indiscriminately, it's how people ride worthless coins to zero. The strategy is only as good as the asset.
What does "diamond hands" mean?
Holding through severe drawdowns without selling — the culture's badge of honour. Its unkind sibling "bagholder" describes the same behaviour applied to a coin that never came back.
General information only, not financial advice. Definitions are maintained in our fact database and reviewed with the daily rebuild.