Hodl

2013Catchphrase / internet slangactive

Also known as: HODLING · Hold On for Dear Life

Hodl is a 2013 internet slang term born from a drunken misspelling of 'holding' on BitcoinTalk forums, evolving into a defiant rallying cry for long-term cryptocurrency investors.

Hodl is a crypto slang term born from a drunken typo on the BitcoinTalk forums in December 2013, when a user misspelled "holding" while ranting about why they refused to sell their Bitcoin during a price crash. The misspelling caught on instantly, turning into a rallying cry for long-term cryptocurrency investors and one of the most recognizable memes in crypto culture. It's since been backronymed to "Hold On for Dear Life" and spawned its own unofficial holiday, HODL Day, celebrated every December 18th.

investment philosophy memesbitcointalk memesfalse etymology memesfinance memesmisspelling memes

TL;DR

Hodl is an intentional misspelling of "hold" used primarily in cryptocurrency communities to encourage investors not to sell during market dips.

Overview

Hodl is an intentional misspelling of "hold" used primarily in cryptocurrency communities to encourage investors not to sell during market dips4. The term functions as both a verb ("I'm hodling") and a philosophy, representing the conviction that long-term holding beats panic selling. While it started as a Bitcoin-specific meme, hodl spread across all cryptocurrency communities and eventually into broader finance culture1.

The word is almost always written in all caps as HODL, reinforcing its meme status. After gaining popularity, crypto enthusiasts retroactively turned it into a backronym meaning "Hold On for Dear Life," though its actual origin is just a typo3.

On December 18th, 2013, Bitcoin's price had dropped roughly 39% in 24 hours, falling from above $700 to under $5002. At 10:03 UTC, a BitcoinTalk forum user named GameKyuubi, self-admittedly drunk on whiskey, posted a rant titled "I AM HODLING"2.

The post opened with: "I type d that tyitle twice because I knew it was wrong the first time. Still wrong. w/e."7 GameKyuubi went on to explain their investment logic in increasingly unhinged prose: "It's because I'm a bad trader and I KNOW I'M A BAD TRADER… You only sell in a bear market if you are a good day trader or an illusioned noob. The people inbetween hold. In a zero-sum game such as this, traders can only take your money if you sell"1.

The post was raw, emotional, and riddled with typos. Forum members immediately latched onto the misspelling rather than the investment advice. Just 11 minutes after the original post, at 10:14 UTC, user piramida responded with a meme graphic playing on the typo2.

Origin & Background

Platform
BitcoinTalk Forums
Creator
GameKyuubi
Date
2013
Year
2013

On December 18th, 2013, Bitcoin's price had dropped roughly 39% in 24 hours, falling from above $700 to under $500. At 10:03 UTC, a BitcoinTalk forum user named GameKyuubi, self-admittedly drunk on whiskey, posted a rant titled "I AM HODLING".

The post opened with: "I type d that tyitle twice because I knew it was wrong the first time. Still wrong. w/e." GameKyuubi went on to explain their investment logic in increasingly unhinged prose: "It's because I'm a bad trader and I KNOW I'M A BAD TRADER… You only sell in a bear market if you are a good day trader or an illusioned noob. The people inbetween hold. In a zero-sum game such as this, traders can only take your money if you sell".

The post was raw, emotional, and riddled with typos. Forum members immediately latched onto the misspelling rather than the investment advice. Just 11 minutes after the original post, at 10:14 UTC, user piramida responded with a meme graphic playing on the typo.

How It Spread

The term stayed within BitcoinTalk and crypto-adjacent communities through 2014. On July 20th, 2014, a Redditor named rafaelnorman posted "what's HODL?" to r/Bitcoin, where user bitskeptic pointed back to GameKyuubi's original forum thread as the source.

By December 2015, the term had enough mainstream traction to earn an Urban Dictionary entry. User netspider defined it as a prompt for "bitcoin users to avoid the temptation of selling off their coins once price starts rising". The definition notably didn't mention the drunken origin story, treating it more as established jargon.

An explanatory article appeared on Medium on April 30th, 2017. The term hit wider awareness during Bitcoin's massive bull run later that year, as the cryptocurrency surged toward $11,000 and attracted a wave of new investors. Crypto veterans repeated "hodl" as their key advice to newcomers panicking over price swings. On November 30th, 2017, Inverse published "What Does 'Hodl' Mean? The Bitcoin Meme Causing a Storm on Reddit," bringing the meme to a general tech audience.

On April 10th, 2017, YouTube channel Bitcoin With Attitude uploaded a parody rap video titled "BWA – HODL," turning the slang into a music meme.

How to Use This Meme

Hodl is typically used as a verb replacing "hold" in cryptocurrency contexts. Someone might post "Just HODL" during a market crash, or say "I've been hodling since 2017" to signal long-term conviction.

Common patterns include: - During price drops: "Don't panic sell, just HODL" or simply "HODL!" - As identity: "I'm a HODLer, not a trader" - Past tense: "I hodled through the crash and came out fine" - As general advice: Responding to someone's panic about a dip with "HODL" in all caps

The term works best in crypto-related discussions but sometimes appears in broader investment or even non-financial contexts when someone wants to signal patience and commitment to a long-term position.

Cultural Impact

Hodl crossed from internet slang into genuine investment philosophy. Crypto commentators like Paul Madore of CryptoCoinsNews argued that holding through major dips "ultimately pays dividends in the long run," framing hodl as legitimate strategy rather than just a joke.

The community formalized the meme's birthday as HODL Day, celebrated annually on December 18th to mark the anniversary of GameKyuubi's original post. What started as an informal joke became a recognized date in the crypto calendar, with exchanges and blockchain companies posting tributes each year.

The term also crossed into traditional pop culture. In October 2018, actor Kristian Nairn, famous for playing Hodor on *Game of Thrones*, appeared in a commercial for the trading platform eToro that played on the similarity between his character's catchphrase and the crypto meme.

Bitcoin Magazine elevated hodl from meme to ethos in an extended analysis, comparing it to Richard Dawkins' original definition of memes as cultural units that replicate through imitation. The piece argued that being a "HODLer" is distinct from being a mere "holder," requiring "laser-like focus, low time preference, and most of all, conviction". They cited figures like Michael Saylor, Jack Mallers, and Saifedean Ammous as embodying the hodl philosophy.

For enterprises and institutional investors, hodl took on a more serious meaning. ChainUp described an "institutional HODL mindset" that drives banks and exchanges to keep investing in blockchain infrastructure even during crypto winters, framing it as "a philosophy of operational and financial resilience".

Fun Facts

GameKyuubi's original post mentioned his girlfriend was "out at a lesbian bar" while he drunkenly typed his manifesto, adding to the chaotic energy that made it memorable.

The misspelling was typed at 10:03 UTC and had its first meme response by 10:14 UTC, just 11 minutes later, making it one of the fastest forum-post-to-meme turnarounds in crypto history.

Bitcoin was trading at roughly $551 when GameKyuubi made the post in December 2013. The coin he refused to sell would be worth dramatically more during subsequent bull runs.

Kristian Nairn's eToro commercial in 2018 created a crossover between the crypto meme and *Game of Thrones*' Hodor character, connecting two completely unrelated uses of a similar-sounding word.

Bitcoin Magazine quoted Terence McKenna's 1990s lectures on memes to argue that hodl functions as a cultural gene, replicating through the crypto community like DNA through organisms.

Derivatives & Variations

HODL Day (December 18th):

An annual celebration marking the anniversary of GameKyuubi's original post, observed by crypto communities and companies worldwide[3].

"Hold On for Dear Life" backronym:

A retroactive expansion of the typo into an acronym, widely used as if it were the original meaning[6].

Diamond hands:

A related concept for investors who refuse to sell, often paired with hodl in crypto discourse. The "diamond hands" metaphor represents the fortitude to hold an asset through extreme volatility[3].

BWA – HODL rap video:

A parody Bitcoin-themed rap uploaded to YouTube on April 10th, 2017, by the channel Bitcoin With Attitude[4].

HODL merchandise:

Crypto fans put the slogan on t-shirts and other gear, turning the misspelling into wearable identity[1].

Frequently Asked Questions

Hodl

2013Catchphrase / internet slangactive

Also known as: HODLING · Hold On for Dear Life

Hodl is a 2013 internet slang term born from a drunken misspelling of 'holding' on BitcoinTalk forums, evolving into a defiant rallying cry for long-term cryptocurrency investors.

Hodl is a crypto slang term born from a drunken typo on the BitcoinTalk forums in December 2013, when a user misspelled "holding" while ranting about why they refused to sell their Bitcoin during a price crash. The misspelling caught on instantly, turning into a rallying cry for long-term cryptocurrency investors and one of the most recognizable memes in crypto culture. It's since been backronymed to "Hold On for Dear Life" and spawned its own unofficial holiday, HODL Day, celebrated every December 18th.

investment philosophy memes bitcointalk memes false etymology memes finance memes misspelling memes

TL;DR

Hodl is an intentional misspelling of "hold" used primarily in cryptocurrency communities to encourage investors not to sell during market dips.

Overview

Hodl is an intentional misspelling of "hold" used primarily in cryptocurrency communities to encourage investors not to sell during market dips. The term functions as both a verb ("I'm hodling") and a philosophy, representing the conviction that long-term holding beats panic selling. While it started as a Bitcoin-specific meme, hodl spread across all cryptocurrency communities and eventually into broader finance culture.

The word is almost always written in all caps as HODL, reinforcing its meme status. After gaining popularity, crypto enthusiasts retroactively turned it into a backronym meaning "Hold On for Dear Life," though its actual origin is just a typo.

On December 18th, 2013, Bitcoin's price had dropped roughly 39% in 24 hours, falling from above $700 to under $500. At 10:03 UTC, a BitcoinTalk forum user named GameKyuubi, self-admittedly drunk on whiskey, posted a rant titled "I AM HODLING".

The post opened with: "I type d that tyitle twice because I knew it was wrong the first time. Still wrong. w/e." GameKyuubi went on to explain their investment logic in increasingly unhinged prose: "It's because I'm a bad trader and I KNOW I'M A BAD TRADER… You only sell in a bear market if you are a good day trader or an illusioned noob. The people inbetween hold. In a zero-sum game such as this, traders can only take your money if you sell".

The post was raw, emotional, and riddled with typos. Forum members immediately latched onto the misspelling rather than the investment advice. Just 11 minutes after the original post, at 10:14 UTC, user piramida responded with a meme graphic playing on the typo.

Origin & Background

Platform
BitcoinTalk Forums
Creator
GameKyuubi
Date
2013
Year
2013

On December 18th, 2013, Bitcoin's price had dropped roughly 39% in 24 hours, falling from above $700 to under $500. At 10:03 UTC, a BitcoinTalk forum user named GameKyuubi, self-admittedly drunk on whiskey, posted a rant titled "I AM HODLING".

The post opened with: "I type d that tyitle twice because I knew it was wrong the first time. Still wrong. w/e." GameKyuubi went on to explain their investment logic in increasingly unhinged prose: "It's because I'm a bad trader and I KNOW I'M A BAD TRADER… You only sell in a bear market if you are a good day trader or an illusioned noob. The people inbetween hold. In a zero-sum game such as this, traders can only take your money if you sell".

The post was raw, emotional, and riddled with typos. Forum members immediately latched onto the misspelling rather than the investment advice. Just 11 minutes after the original post, at 10:14 UTC, user piramida responded with a meme graphic playing on the typo.

How It Spread

The term stayed within BitcoinTalk and crypto-adjacent communities through 2014. On July 20th, 2014, a Redditor named rafaelnorman posted "what's HODL?" to r/Bitcoin, where user bitskeptic pointed back to GameKyuubi's original forum thread as the source.

By December 2015, the term had enough mainstream traction to earn an Urban Dictionary entry. User netspider defined it as a prompt for "bitcoin users to avoid the temptation of selling off their coins once price starts rising". The definition notably didn't mention the drunken origin story, treating it more as established jargon.

An explanatory article appeared on Medium on April 30th, 2017. The term hit wider awareness during Bitcoin's massive bull run later that year, as the cryptocurrency surged toward $11,000 and attracted a wave of new investors. Crypto veterans repeated "hodl" as their key advice to newcomers panicking over price swings. On November 30th, 2017, Inverse published "What Does 'Hodl' Mean? The Bitcoin Meme Causing a Storm on Reddit," bringing the meme to a general tech audience.

On April 10th, 2017, YouTube channel Bitcoin With Attitude uploaded a parody rap video titled "BWA – HODL," turning the slang into a music meme.

How to Use This Meme

Hodl is typically used as a verb replacing "hold" in cryptocurrency contexts. Someone might post "Just HODL" during a market crash, or say "I've been hodling since 2017" to signal long-term conviction.

Common patterns include: - During price drops: "Don't panic sell, just HODL" or simply "HODL!" - As identity: "I'm a HODLer, not a trader" - Past tense: "I hodled through the crash and came out fine" - As general advice: Responding to someone's panic about a dip with "HODL" in all caps

The term works best in crypto-related discussions but sometimes appears in broader investment or even non-financial contexts when someone wants to signal patience and commitment to a long-term position.

Cultural Impact

Hodl crossed from internet slang into genuine investment philosophy. Crypto commentators like Paul Madore of CryptoCoinsNews argued that holding through major dips "ultimately pays dividends in the long run," framing hodl as legitimate strategy rather than just a joke.

The community formalized the meme's birthday as HODL Day, celebrated annually on December 18th to mark the anniversary of GameKyuubi's original post. What started as an informal joke became a recognized date in the crypto calendar, with exchanges and blockchain companies posting tributes each year.

The term also crossed into traditional pop culture. In October 2018, actor Kristian Nairn, famous for playing Hodor on *Game of Thrones*, appeared in a commercial for the trading platform eToro that played on the similarity between his character's catchphrase and the crypto meme.

Bitcoin Magazine elevated hodl from meme to ethos in an extended analysis, comparing it to Richard Dawkins' original definition of memes as cultural units that replicate through imitation. The piece argued that being a "HODLer" is distinct from being a mere "holder," requiring "laser-like focus, low time preference, and most of all, conviction". They cited figures like Michael Saylor, Jack Mallers, and Saifedean Ammous as embodying the hodl philosophy.

For enterprises and institutional investors, hodl took on a more serious meaning. ChainUp described an "institutional HODL mindset" that drives banks and exchanges to keep investing in blockchain infrastructure even during crypto winters, framing it as "a philosophy of operational and financial resilience".

Fun Facts

GameKyuubi's original post mentioned his girlfriend was "out at a lesbian bar" while he drunkenly typed his manifesto, adding to the chaotic energy that made it memorable.

The misspelling was typed at 10:03 UTC and had its first meme response by 10:14 UTC, just 11 minutes later, making it one of the fastest forum-post-to-meme turnarounds in crypto history.

Bitcoin was trading at roughly $551 when GameKyuubi made the post in December 2013. The coin he refused to sell would be worth dramatically more during subsequent bull runs.

Kristian Nairn's eToro commercial in 2018 created a crossover between the crypto meme and *Game of Thrones*' Hodor character, connecting two completely unrelated uses of a similar-sounding word.

Bitcoin Magazine quoted Terence McKenna's 1990s lectures on memes to argue that hodl functions as a cultural gene, replicating through the crypto community like DNA through organisms.

Derivatives & Variations

HODL Day (December 18th):

An annual celebration marking the anniversary of GameKyuubi's original post, observed by crypto communities and companies worldwide[3].

"Hold On for Dear Life" backronym:

A retroactive expansion of the typo into an acronym, widely used as if it were the original meaning[6].

Diamond hands:

A related concept for investors who refuse to sell, often paired with hodl in crypto discourse. The "diamond hands" metaphor represents the fortitude to hold an asset through extreme volatility[3].

BWA – HODL rap video:

A parody Bitcoin-themed rap uploaded to YouTube on April 10th, 2017, by the channel Bitcoin With Attitude[4].

HODL merchandise:

Crypto fans put the slogan on t-shirts and other gear, turning the misspelling into wearable identity[1].

Frequently Asked Questions