I AM HODLING: A Five-Year Anniversary Tribute

It was December 2013. The Bitcoin market was experiencing the biggest swings since its inception. Soon after reaching and passing the $1,000-mark for the first time in history, Bitcoin crashed to under $700. As a result, a Bitcoin user took his frustration out to popular cryptocurrency forum Bitcointalk. Fed up with all the price talk and tired of hearing how everybody sold at the all-time highs for a big profit, ‘GameKyuubi’ created a new thread named: I AM HODLING.

HODL: Myth and Reality

Many newcomers will be surprised to know the term ‘HODL’ wasn’t used initially as an acronym to ‘Hold On to Dear Life’ or ‘Hold On to Da Loot.’ It was actually an honest typo from one intoxicated user. ‘GameKyuubi’ admitted at that time he or she had some whiskey — actually whisky, as spelled on the bottle. The user tried to type the title of the thread twice, but every time, the same result appeared: HODLING instead of HOLDING. One fact is certain: he or she was having a really bad day. The girlfriend was out and Bitcoin was crashing down to Earth with everybody bragging how they sold at the all-time high. Frustrated, ‘GameKyuubi’ wrote about his plan to HODL and not get tricked by speculators. Many followed the OP’s advice by joining the thread and thus, writing down the first pages of the HODL lore. Obviously, we all know what happened in the next couple of months. Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy on February 28, 2014, with Bitcoin staying afloat between $500 and $600 after a failed attempt to reach four-digits in January 2014. The next months — and years, for that matter — were even more painful for the HODLers, who saw their favorite cryptocurrency going further down to the $200s.

Nearly 2019 and Still HODLING

Sure, the decision the initial HODLers made on that December day of 2013 doesn’t seem like a wise one if we take a look at the following months. Nevertheless, long-term, it was a great decision. Bitcoin started climbing up yet again in 2016 and, by the end of that year, the $1,000 peak was once again conquered. 2017 brought new highs and one incredible feat: Bitcoin trading for $20,000 in some Asian markets at some point in December 2017. The $20K peak created the same hype around cryptocurrencies as in 2013, with more and more people HODLing and dreaming of Lambos this time around. Now, one year later from the all-time high and five from the birth of the HODL movement, the crypto community is still HODLING. Are you? Are you a HODLer? How long do you plan on HODLING? Please share your answers with the rest of us in the comment section below.