Bitcoin Forum

Being new to Bitcoin I learned how a misspelling of the word 'hold' turned into HODL -  a backronym or phrase standing for 'hold on for dear life' - - and this backronym is used often by a number of people.

So, my question is pretty simple. Is the recommendation to HODL Bitcoin, to hodl forever, or until the owner really, really needs (or really wants) currency for something important - with the intent to only sell a fraction of the BTC he has and continue hodling the remaining?  

Just how do you define your hodling recommendation? Is it really forever or does it have any exceptions?  

Let's make it simple: Determine what kind of HODL you want to do.

If what's your definition of HODL, THAT'S IT and follow it - Do your own and let others do their own.

Your question have no answer, you're the one who know yourself the most.

There are someone prefer to flip their money, there are someone prefer to sell some when they're in needs (their emergency funds not enough), and there are someone who prefer to hold forever (because they have a good career and business, so they won't need to think about money).

They created the phrase by themselves, the original person who created HODL I AM HODLING (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=375643.0) was just because he's bad in trading.

Bitcoin is money. Money has three main use cases.

First, it serves as a medium of exchange, allowing you to trade for goods and services you need and want,things that improve your life. Whether it's buying a house, food, or paying for services, money enables these transactions.

Second, money acts as a store of value. It helps preserve its value over a long period so that you can exchange it for goods and services when you need them. This means money allows people to save their purchasing power for future use. When we earn money, we can keep it and use it later to buy goods and services.

Third, money functions as a unit of account, or a measure of value. Money serves as a common way to express the value of goods and services. Just as we measure weight in kilograms and length in meters, we measure the value of goods and services using money
So, Bitcoin is good for saving because it is a hard form of money compared to fiat currencies, which are inflationary and lose value over time. You should save in Bitcoin, and when you want to buy something, you can spend your Bitcoin.

Prices measured in Bitcoin tend to go down , unlike prices measured in fiat currencies, where inflation causes prices to go up.That’s why it’s much smarter and more convenient to use Bitcoin as your unit of account.

We cannot simply adopt the beliefs of others because, ultimately, only you can answer your own questions.
It’s not without reason that everyone has their own perspective on this matter, but when it comes to hodling, everyone will agree that we won’t always be in this situation. However, as long as you can do it, you should do it because it will be very useful for your future.

On the other hand, everyone sometimes has their own goals, regardless of what others say about holding. Everyone has their own starting point and endpoint, so there will inevitably be many different perspectives because everyone’s thoughts and goals are different. Given this situation, you should ask yourself how long you can continue holding and what goals you want to achieve, as this can be the starting point for determining your future when investing in Bitcoin.

Simple answer is Take profit when you are happy, there is no such thing as hodl forever, what happen if the price is now declining, this is just a example okay, the price goes down from 100k to 10k from the moment the price is going down to 50 you should have already take profit, why because you are again waiting for the next dip and buy cheap,
and hold again, so there is a phase that you should take profit and hold, this is just my opinion, look what the holder that bitcoin selling everything, you think, he will not buy again?
he will but with the cheap price or he thinks its already time again to bag.

HODL  = Hold On Dear Life, is like a trap in mindset and I don't consider it is part of my plan. I believe in Bitcoin, and try to accumulate more bitcoins as much as possible, but I am not a fan of HODL term.

I plan to hold my bitcoin for some market cycles because I am young now, and I am using my discretionary income for bitcoin accumulation, and have emergency fund to use just in case. I don't plan to HODL my bitcoin, not sell, and will die with it.

If I don't sell all of my bitcoin in future, I will give it to my children but only when they are matured enough and I don't force them to HODL.

People buy Bitcoin for several reasons. Some want to make a profit while others want to enjoy privacy. Is there any benefit of hodling Bitcoin forever? If you die without any succession plan, the coin will become a donation to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Many people who hodl Bitcoin have plan for the investment. Some people sell all or part of their hodling to satisfy some needs or for diversification of asset. Hodling forever could be seen as keeping Bitcoin all through your lifetime because you want to transfer it to your dependents before or when you die.

It’s not logical to hold forever since you are investing to gain profit in the future. The only reason why it’s good to hold long term is to get much better profit since Bitcoin price grow long term.

But if you needed the money already while you are in profit, I think it’s good already to sell your holdings since that’s the point of having of Bitcoin investment.

To have profit in the future.

I try to HODL as much as I can on three fronts.

My TFSA is maxed out for 2025 with CA$100,000 in a bitcoin ETF that yields/dividends 11% average per year and pays it out in the 1st week of every month.

My RRSP has CA$110,000 of the same ETF.

Since I started buying it in early June, they are both up 5% or about CA$10,000. This figure is off because Friday's close was low for most bitcoin ETFs caused by the Galaxy FUD. In mid July, I also converted CA$62,000 in IBIT ETF to the yield ETF, this also sways the 5% profit figure.

I also have 0.076478 coin that I bought at average US$115,660.34. I had a lot more coin but sold it at a profit and put it in TFSA for tax purposes. That was approx CA$100,000 worth.

I 'day trade' bitcoin with a 20:1 margin account that has just over CA$20,000 in it. This means with a 50% margin limit, I can trade CA$200,000 in coin. I usually keep my margin below CA$60,000 in case of huge dips. I tried to buy my way out of several cascading dips in the last week of Feb/2025 and lost CA$31,000 in margin calls. A foolish, rookie mistake that I won't repeat. With CA$60,000 then I only need a 1.66% increase in bitcoin each day to make CA$100 each day. My best month this year was
January with $6780.85 in net trading profit. Since the trading account is offshore, I only need to pay taxes when I bring the money back to Canada. The $26,000 net loss for February will be a tax write off at the end of the year.

I have a CA$25,000 line of credit with one bank and hope to get CA$50,000 with another bank soon. When bitcoin dipped  in early April/2025, I tapped the full $25,000 to buy coin and then converted it back in a few days. $23.72 interest that netted me about $3,000 after I sold the coin again.

My HODL plan is to keep my chequing account just over $4,000 which is the low limit to get all the free services. My day trade account, I keep between $20,000 and $40,000. All income from pensions etc goes into actual coin. At the end of 2025, I will calculate how much coin I need to sell to put into the RRSP ETF for tax relief. I can also add another $7,000 to my TFSA ETF on Jan 1/2026.

If I need money in a hurry I have access to the $25,000 line of credit, $10,000 in paid off credit cards, and $12,000 in bitcoin as of July 26. If the markets are open and the price is up, I can also sell my $100,000 TFSA ETF shares. The $110,000 RRSP shares I would have to pay 10-20% tax on as soon as I withdraw the cash.

Imagine Bitcoin as your own commercial bank (a commercial bank in your pocket)🏛️

This bank stores your money, and this money constantly multiplies (increases in value when converted to fiat money). And you don’t have to go to other people to open a deposit account. You also don’t have to go to other people to make a transaction, because it’s your own commercial bank (and it’s not controlled by any central bank, which is a huge plus)🤸

More... The longer you keep your money on deposit, the more it multiplies. At the same time, you sometimes have a need for various goods in life. You periodically need to buy various goods and services. You can do this using fiat currencies (for example, your income in the form of a salary that you receive at your main place of work), or you can use Bitcoin.  Accordingly, you can exchange some of your Satoshi for USDT or USDC, or directly for fiat money.✨

In my opinion, Bitcoin is not so much a story about wealth, but a story about freedom of action and independence. No one can lock your assets in the Bitcoin blockchain. No one can control your financial transactions (especially international ones)💁

In my opinion, the HODL principle should not be interpreted literally: you can never sell your satoshi. No! You can sell your satoshi if it suits your life strategy and makes you freer and happier.🌞

That will be your decision. I will not hodl forever but long term because I want to prepare something for my family. I accumulate Bitcoin and hodl it for the long term, more than 10 years and I still do that until now.

But I don't just hodl for the long term because I also sell some amount if I need to take a profit. It happened before when Bitcoin hit $122k and I sold some amount of Bitcoin and held the rest. I take my profit in that price and buy something ;D

What's the point of keeping bitcoins forever? We need bitcoin to become richer, but if it's just numbers on a monitor, what's the point. The strategy is simple you need buy cheap, sell expensive. And use the difference for your own needs. It's just that sales cycles don't last for months, but are measured in years. The approximate growth and decline cycle is 4 years. That's the approximate period you need to count on for successful investing.10 years is probably just a missed opportunity to take profits and lock them in, and then buy back your own bitcoins again.

Until the owner wants to spend it.
Hold Bitcoin because its price chart is always increasing, not on a monthly basis, but I assess it based on a four-year cycle. It could also be because Bitcoin is always able to make ATH.

Only Bitcoin owners know when to hold their Bitcoin.
I know myself. I will never know how you define holding your Bitcoin. Other people also only know when to hold their Bitcoin.

Satoshi is the greatest example of HODLER we can have  8)

Those who hold BTC for so long, or forever as you said, are helping BTC to be scarcer, and consequently have a higher value
Those who spend their BTC are helping miners and the BTC economy to grow, which was also predicted by Satoshi

And the vast majority will sell BTC at some point. One of the great and excellent features of BTC, in my opinion, is that it serves different purposes for each person

If you don't know that bitcoin will not live forever you better no it now, for you not to regret when such thing happen in the future op. The reason some people are holding bitcoin for long term before they can trade or sell, is for income earning, but you will not see anyone that have wisdom of bitcoin holding that will like to hold it forever, once you discover that there will be income when you sell your bitcoin, you are free to release your bitcoin to earn income that will increase your wealth to invest more when you are ready to buy another time, Hold and hodl mean the same thing in this forum op, you can decide to hold your bitcoin for Short period of time to earn income or hold for long term to earn income, which is the main reason people are buying bitcoin to hold for their wallets.

My definition should probably be holding to an extent, where you won't feel any regrets if the price happens to go further than the stage you've hold. Everyone keeps talking about the future, and this future isn't a particular day/time for everyone. Some people's future was yesterday, while others might be today or tomorrow, and so on.

So, I don't think that the recommendation is to actually hold for eternity(by intensionally dying and leaving it), but it is actually to hold for as long as possible, so that when you make a sale, future price increase won't cause much of a regret, even though it actually does.

I feel everyone has their elastic limit, and unless it is exceeded just hodl. The goal of every investment is to make life easier in the near future. But a wise investor keeps investing at every given opportunity such that when the days of need draw near it will be easier to sell some coin, solve the problem and still have enough left to continue the hodl cycle.

Hodl until it answers when lambo  :D if the Lamborghini question can't be answered keep DCAing until the stash is so healthy to call it  your retirement package...we won't be young forever,  we need to live life away from the screens, away from the charts , away from the FUD , Politics and all that.

Otherwise for how long can one Hodl can only be answered in ones personal capacity.

It is a simple logic for me:

I will buy Bitcoin

I will Hold Bitcoin

I will sell Bitcoin

If i don't fulfil all three especially the last part, there is nothing there to celebrate.

There is no counsel for how long i choose to hold, once i hold quite the amount am capable, i won't hesitate to take profits.

Its just like doing a business, some will like to sell at $5 interest while some may prefer selling at $15 interest or even more depending on how long they may wish to hodl until they have a customer to buy at their selling rate, once you're able to hodl bitcoin and also make some profits on it, then you may decide on when to sell and at what rate you wanted to sell base on the current market value on bitcoin, if otherwise, you can continue to hodl and as the market keep increasing, then you keep earning as well, some may also choose to buy the dip and sell and continue in this circle.

The word HODL, comes from misspelling, has taken root in Bitcoin. This HODL refers not only to holding Bitcoin for the long term but also to having confidence and faith in any adverse situation in the market. I think that in the case of Bitcoin, there is no chance of profiting by holding it for the short term. Those who can hold it for the long term will be ahead in implementing their goals. Those who invest in the short term get scared in any situation, and sometimes some even sell Bitcoin unfortunately. Those who can believe in holding Bitcoin do not have to be scared in such situations. Those who believe in holding it for the long term are the ones who succeed in holding Bitcoin.

I wonder what percentage of Bitcoin [anytime] owners have sold all or a significant portion of their holdings and regret selling it because they've missed out on the increases that have taken place after they sold?  

Clearly, early owners that bought pizzas with a handful of Bitcoins enormously regrets 'spending' them, but I strongly suspect there's a devastating number of owners that in the past few years have chosen to take profits and now beat themselves up with overwhelming regret. That common proverb - 'It's never wrong to take profit' is never always correct!  ;)   

For me, hodling means keeping your bitcoin until you really need and then selling, but only as little as possible.

Also, since I got into bitcoin, I always had some imaginary bitcoin pirce that I was sure will make me sell everything that I have, but every time we reach that level (10k, 50k, 100k etc), I sold only a fraction of it, and so far it proved to be a winning tactic.

Regarding hodling bitcoin forever, I see no point of it because bitcoin is money, and what's the point of money if you don't use it?

HODL is just a term to keep for the longest time. This doesn't mean you should keep it forever.

If you keep your Bitcoin forever, what use is it for you in your lifetime? So HODL is just a word to portray a determination to keep the investment. If you had held your Bitcoin for 10 years or more, you have, of course, HODL the Bitcoin. It's just a word that denotes the longer-term keeping of the coin by buying and forgetting it in the wallet for the longest period possible.

  It's not to hold forever but to hold until you are satisfied with the reward you are getting at the end. You can also hold till your "forever" Which is till you die and you can pass it to your child or grandchildren. Bitcoin is an asset that increases in value regularly and the reason why the "HOLD" Word was established was because of an investor who was trying to encourage other investors to hold their Bitcoin so early because he believes that if they hold for a longer time, they will be more profit for them. The "Hodl' word didn't say investors should hold forever.

Your keys, your coins. I cannot tell you what to do with it, if someone decides to hold on forever, then that is on them, if you decide to sell at certain milestones and buy later, or only sell a fraction and hold on to the rest, it is still your decision. There are no rules to things like this. However, i don't think i can ever sell all of my BTC, it is an asset and a currency to me, just as i would always have real estate, i would always have BTC in my wallet.

The primary purpose of every investment is to get profit that we can use to improve our living standard. Hodling Bitcoin is good for long term but not forever because the profit will be of no use if we are getting it in our 60s or 70s. I also see no harm in selling some of your Bitcoins when we need funds because that's what we are investing for. Sell some of your Bitcoins to generate necessary funds rather then going to Banks for loan. Moreover life is short and we don't know when we breath our last, so it's better to plan our hodling strategy accordingly.  

I don’t think any good investor will hodl bitcoin forever. Truth is, no one would want to hodl forever, but eventually sell bitcoin when an excellent price has been achieved. Most especially that we are born with greed, once we see bitcoin reaching another all time high, most of us would be very eager to sell a portion of bitcoin because let’s face the reality, we also want to enjoy the fruit of our labor, or we also want to diversify our investment and try other assets that would also bring impressive profits for us.

Honestly, mate you shouldn’t be asking for one’s exceptions. We all say we should all keep hodling because we know the power or potential of bitcoin. But if there are any exceptions to be made, it should be decided by YOU because you are the only one who would know what’s the best for you and what your current situation is. If there are any special cases, that’s for you to find out and not for us to advise or recommend.

What I often hear is that Bitcoin is held until its value really rises, so that when that happens, the hodler will have already made a significant profit. When that happens, they won't sell their entire Bitcoin, because they only need a portion of it to sell. So, from the explanation I've given, we can conclude that a Bitcoin hodler here keeps their funds safe, and perhaps could be called a Store of Value or even more.

You might be asking, how can someone hold their Bitcoin long-term? (That's what I often hear from newbies in crypto, or especially in Bitcoin), the answer is that we have to start from the bottom, namely saving Bitcoin from other sources of income, and try not to disturb the Bitcoin that has been held, making Bitcoin installments, so that it will accumulate, and then we can enjoy it someday.

You don't need to hodl your bitcoin forever. The goal is just to hodl and make a better profit from bitcoin.  If you need to hodl your bitcoin forever that means their is no need to hodl bitcoin. As you hodl bitcoin their is always time to take profit but the target is always to make good profit in hoding and this may take sometimes , but it is not as if one has to hodl their bitcoin forever.Their is a reason for hoding bitcoin and this is just the essence of hodling , we don't hodl just for hoding sake but to make profit on a long run, the profit must be massive at the end of it.

Do you have so much money elsewhere for your daily usage that you can't touch your Bitcoin investment? I mean, you have bigger quantity of Bitcoin in your wallet that you don't need it for any yet? Also, do you have other source of income that can't let you withdraw your bigger Bitcoin for any reasons?

I'm asking all these because if your answer is YES, then it's better holding your Bitcoin for as long as you want, if your answer is NO, then you should be selling your Bitcoin whenever you get some few profits. Think about it.

Let's assume that the price of bitcoin will grow forever still it is not enough to keep holding it forever without selling it (fraction/portion). We may need money and if we have bitcoin then sell it, not to use the money that we have for our need is pointless in my opinion. So I will sell if I need and I am not holding a big pile to say that I only sell the portions but I will try to keep my spending as low as possible because I know the value will be higher over the time and also I will try to accumulate the sold coins when I have money.

Hodling Bitcoin isn't a forever thing, and selling depends solely on you. Bitcoin's price changes over time and different ATHs has been recorded in the past and Bitcoin's hodlers sold during these ATHs, hodling Bitcoin on a long term goal is a good way to go and you could decide to sell at ATH but I suggest you sell a fraction of it and hodl on the rest of it. Hodl on to your Bitcoin and sell when you know it's time to make good profits from it and don't hodl forever because one of the reasons why investors invest in Bitcoin is for a better financial stability in future so it's a total waste of time, energy and effort to hodl on to it forever.

Well... it's really a very personal question. There's no "recipe" that is faithfully followed, since everyone adds their own flavor (needs). Therefore, sometimes it's an introspective question. Anyway, what is clear to me is that forever only exists if you lose your seeds.  :)

We all invest into bitcoin and hodl for several reasons. But it’s rare to hear that some would certainly hodl their coins forever since most persons I know, they already have set timeline when to reap their profits from bitcoin.

Although hodling forever will create huge returns once decide to sell, but know that even forever for bitcoin may not actually come. The market is unpredictable, that’s why we cannot tell if how long bitcoin will live on and stay profitable in the market.

this is one way but when people say keep hodling it just means you don’t look or touch at your bitcoins until you are absolutely ready to take it not to re-buy but to spend

we have different strategies some people buy and sell (not really trading) but some people also just hold for a long time so that they don’t have to think of too much worries and just keep holding

There is no term of "holding forever". Each person who invests in Bitcoin, they may expect for profits someday. However, how long holding the Bitcoin can be varied among the holders. Mostly people hold Bitcoin for 3-4 years (following 4 years cycle), but there are also people holding Bitcoin for 8 years or more. This will depend on the target of each holder.

I myself only hold 3-4 years so far. I always take profits during the bullrun and rebuy on the next bearish. In my own opinion, this way is the most effective way to collect more Bitcoin and having enough money for the profits. However, the whales may have no time to always monitor the market, so they target for the profits for a longer time. They must also expect for bigger profits, it may need some cycles to achieve it.

By the way, have you made a plan about the time period of holding your Bitcoin?

Everyone's perspective ultimately differs when it comes to holding, because ultimately everyone is in the same situation in terms of the long term, but their goals and how they will achieve them will obviously differ, because not everyone intends to stay in Bitcoin forever, even if they are holding for the long term in this case.

I'll only refer to myself in this context, where my goal is not only to support myself financially (through Bitcoin investments) but also to achieve specific time-sensitive objectives. When that timeframe is met and aligns with my targets (in terms of both time and value), I will consider several options moving forward, such as exiting entirely or partially. In this case, I will certainly weigh various considerations for the next steps.

This is a reasonable condition for me, although others may disagree or have different conditions than what I aim to do. This clearly depends on each person's perspective, as everyone's goals and how they view holding are not the same.

I won't ever need the Bitcoin related (ETF) assets. It's another asset in the game of wealth accumulation... 

We're free to sell anytime we want to. It's just that everyone encourages to hold for as long as you can because the price of Bitcoin is continuing to grow. And so, if you have decided to sell a fraction of it, that's fine. You didn't do any offense to anybody or to the community. Others have surely sold somehow because they can't just let this opportunity pass while we're on the peak.

It can be part of your retirement fund but at least you've got to enjoy the labor of your patience in holding.

Nothing planed. No intentions at this time.  At this time I have shares of FBTC ETF, but at some later time I may take BTC but I'm not ready for that now...

I get enjoyment in a lot of different ways, and one way is in the results of good investments...

I don't think the intent would be to hold forever. There's a parable about a Mexican fisherman that showcases us money isn't everything, sometimes a simpler life is the way. After all, what is the $ for? For things. Or to spend on people, perhaps. But it won't go with you anytime soon, or later for that fact.

Take a look at the recent 80k BTC sell. People are clowning this guy for selling, and for what? What else are you going to do except live a life worth living. It doesn't make sense to me to HODL forever. Take what you need to live a happy, blessed life. Generational wealth, WAGMI all copes. Don't miss your life

You don't HODL forever and no one is planing on holding forever, as a Bitcoin investor you should have a target and as soon as you meet that target you can now start selling some set of people has a target of accumulating consistently for 5 to 10 years while some has a target of accumulating and holding Bitcoin till Bitcoin gets to $200k or $400k in price, so you need to have a target you can't start accumulating Bitcoin without a target, and when you have an emergency you are not suppose to use your Bitcoin investment to solve that emergency that is why we advise that everyone that is investing on Bitcoin to have a backup funds which is your emergency, reserve and float funds, when ever you have an emergency or financial problem and you don't have money on you all you need to do is dip hands into your backup funds.
You need to do everything possible to make sure you protect your Bitcoin investment till you achieve that target you have put in place.
And again when you finally meet your target all you have to do is start selling only 10 percent of your Bitcoin when ever there's a rise, in other to keep your investment going.

HODL simply means you should never run out of Bitcoin. In other words, you should always have Bitcoin as long as you live, that is what the term means. If you have accumulated a decent amount of Bitcoin now, in the future you can sell some depending on your needs and age or physical strenght, but never sell off all your Bitcoin for whatever reasons.

Buy, hold, and sell—it is a cycle.

Why are many encouraging holding? It is because they believe that holding makes you more profitable. However, it doesn't mean it will be forever; we still need to sell them (in fractions or as a whole) to earn. How long? That will depend on your preferences and target price. Most holders sell their bitcoin during bull season and reinvest during bear season.

But don't put pressure on yourself to hold longer if it is against your will. Do whatever you think is right. It was your bitcoin, your money; you can decide whatever you want.

As previously discussed, always remember the purpose of investments in general. Ask yourself- why do you invest money in the first place?

The answer seems obvious: we save money in order to get the most returns to our initial capital. So at the end, investments are basically money that accrues interest overtime. Now following your question OP, do you recommend to HODL BTC forever? If you do that, then you will NEVER realize and profit from your investments.

In conclusion, treat your investments as part of your overall capital. The reason on why we invest is because we need money at the end. Basically, you HODL until you see a gain on your part (and that gain will depend on the market and your decision to sell) or if you need to sell it for emergency purposes.

My personal definition in terms of the development of Bitcoin, I have the opposite understanding, meaning Bitcoin is really played by the authorities.

If you can adopt bitcoin in the amount of rice you can hodl and you win, I think Bitcoin from 2009-2017 is in favor of low economic users, entering 2018 until now Bitcoin is in favor of the authorities and billionaires.

So, if the ruler and billionaires have taken a role in the Bitcoin market, of course Hodl dies and does not work for ordinary users who buy little by little, that's the law of nature in the world of crypto.

With very good technology behind, magical design and its historic parabolic growth so far, Bitcoin is a very good investment asset for anyone who afford to spend money for it, and are able to hold it for several years or two to three market cycles. Millionaires or billionaires can be Bitcoin made if they invested in Bitcoin very early years and held it long time enough.

It does not mean there is no longer chance for newbies to find better wealth and life with Bitcoin. Chance is here as Bitcoin adoption growth, value and price growth won't stop in 2025, so if you can join now, it is still early for them to join the party and enjoy profit in coming years.

Bitcoin historic ROIs and its bullish trend towards future for any newbie who still fell unsure about its future.
Bitcoin & Traditional Assets ROI (vs USD): https://casebitcoin.com/

Holding (or HODLing) refers to keeping Bitcoin for a certain period of time waiting until the price of Bitcoin increases and the holder can make a reasonable profit from it. Holding can last for a year, four years, ten years or even longer, depending on how much the price of Bitcoin rises to the point where the investor is satisfied with the profit and sell to take the profits.the reason why many people prefer to hold for a long term like 4 to 10 years or more is because of the Bitcoin halving. Every four years a Bitcoin halving occurs, and after each halving, there is usually a bullrun a period when the price of Bitcoin moves to a new ATH  This is based on Bitcoin history.

So, just imagine someone holding Bitcoin for 10 years that means they could witness two or more new ATHs. The profit made by that long-term holder is likely to be significantly higher than someone who only held Bitcoin for a year and then sold, based on past Bitcoin performance. holding Bitcoin doesn't mean you have to keep it in your wallet forever. It simply means holding until the price reaches a level you’re comfortable with and some choose to sell to take it aim profits.

I am afraid that many won't be able to follow this tip. Because of their needs, it's possible that many of them will start to sell all of that they have when the price of Bitcoin increases more. In my personal experience, I have no choice but to sell during the past bull run because of my need. I somehow regret but I have no choice and that's how Bitcoin saved me from particular situations and in the future, it will be understandable if some have to do the same thing.

Every investor has a take profits plan.. and if one has non, they might just be to naive to sell of their coins out of fud. The term hodl depends on how long every investor might have been in the bitcoin journey. Many who were elites in the satoshi era, could probably decide to retire them selfs for life because I consider them as the real hodlers. Bitcoin investment to be profitable should be held for at least a range of 5-10 years. That's why its usually adviced to invest only what you may not be in need to very soon.. have a stable source of income and just hold..

Clearly, selling off all one's Bitcoin will be needed by some people, but if possible it would be smart (if possible) to only sell off what is absolutely needed and retain what remains.

Even better (if one has the wherewithal) is to use other assets that may not have the high ROI that Bitcoin does and HODL the Bitcoin...  

It's just a call of situation and we can't blame the others if they ended up doing that. In my decision, I haven't sold everything and that's what I am thankful for myself although it's quite a big portion of my holdings but still, I've got some holdings left.

I agree, don't touch BTC and if there are some other assets that can be sold, choose it. Bitcoin is better for the longer term of holding it and nothing can beat its stability.

If you Hold forever then you are to going to get value for that which you are holding , you are just stocking it at a place and not doing anything with it or having no plans for it or to use it for anything which makes it of much less or even no value, Holding is foe value appreciation for the future, whereby you are going to end up with an ROI with which you are going to achieve other things with in the future.

The concept behind the Holding is a situation where by you buy at a certain price and then you allow the value to increase to a certain price where you are going to then withdraw all of it including the capital and do whatever you wish with it or you are going to get a fragment of it which may be equivalent to the added value you have gotten on the asset and then use for whatever it is you want to use it for, more like just taking profit and leaving the capital and allowing the capital to grow again to another value where you make some profit from it and then you take again if you want, more like an investment and not just Holding unto it for an unaccountable number of tie without doing anything with it or having plans for which you want to use it for, just hold on till the value appreciates enough for you to use.

Op, firstly, you need to understand that you're not coerced by any rule on the duration you can hodl your Bitcoin. Different people have different reasons of hodling Bitcoin and because their motives differ, they hodl for different time duration. To me, HODLing isn’t necessarily forever, it’s more about long-term conviction. I’m stacking and holding with the plan to only sell when it really matters, like for life-changing goals or emergencies. But the aim is to always keep some BTC for the future, no matter what.

So you should know your reason of hodling and then sell when your target of hodling is met.

While I’ve come to realized that no one would want to hodl their coins forever, but for those who want to pass their bitcoin legacy to their children and grandchildren, maybe they can continue hodling their coins forever.

But for me, I’m hodling for my retirement, I’m hodling to ensure financial stability and security when my old age comes, which means my hodling has its own expiration, I’m hodling for my own purpose. And I think majority who buy and hold bitcoin have the same dreams and goals as mine.

You are more than welcome to take profits if you need them. You could even take all the BTC and trade it for fiat or things you want/need. But the consensus in the Bitcoin (and even the cryptocurrency community) is that Bitcoin will go much higher, being the deflationary, revolutionary and young new generation of money that it is. But as I said, feel free to empty your bags, just be sure not to regret your decision in the future.

True, don't put too much pressure on yourself by having doubts on decisions. If you really feel to take profit and you feel happy about it, then it's fine, no one can predict when or how will bitcoin survive in few months but as long as you're making progress on your portfolio, it's okay.

As long as you've sold the bags from a good multiplier like you've got a good entry then it's all worth it, bitcoin can still grow in the future, the narrative of being a digital gold still remains so it's up to you when you should sell the bags. The important thing here is just don't sell it at lose because it'll ruin your momentum.

Seriously, what's the point of HODLing forever? Do you want to be a rich guy who lived like a poor and in life, he didn't experience anything better than a random poor person? Then what's the point of money? If you can't get some fun and experience another level of life, then what's the point? I want to become rich to live on another level, to have all the fun, travel and so on.

I recommend to hold long-term but should not make it a lifetime commitment. Just invest in it, hold it enough to see double or triple digits profit going up and then sell if you need money, then wait for the price to fall and buy again, this way you'll have a profit that you can spend easily while you'll get the same amount of coins. You should calculate profit in coins, not in US dollars. If I bought 0.1 Bitcoin at 100K, sold it at 120K, had a fun worth of 20K and then I later bought 0.1 Bitcoin at 100K, this means that I'm holding the right way.

Yes, that's why you have got to be a good investor and take it we're on the right time, the profits. Because many of the investors look only into it as a short term investment and when they are able to make some money in it, they think that it's enough and it will no longer continue to happen to them. So, good investments comes from taking risk at the beginning and believing on assets like Bitcoin. There is no other crypto that's better than it.

We as different individual should have our own definition for what hodling is to us because we can't be having a general description when we have different reasons why we're investing in Bitcoin. I can hodl for many years because I might'nt have a reason to make use of my Bitcoin now but for others that might have urgent need for money, they can go ahead and sell some of the Bitcoin they hodl to tackle that money needing situation. It doesn't make any sense that you'll have money and can't use it for your basic needs therefore our needs should always be prioritised before anything else because living is more important than any investments.

You're right, anyone can sell at any price as long as they get a return. It doesn't matter how much profit they make, when they decide to sell, they should be happy with the profit. Someone may of course regret their decision to sell early when the bitcoin price rises even higher after they sell, but they forget that the market still gives them the opportunity to buy back at a different price and take advantage of the volatility to make a profit.

There are certainly reasons for holding Bitcoin longer, one of which is to maximize its long-term potential. Investors who sell early certainly benefit, but long-term holders will undoubtedly reap greater gains if Bitcoin's price continues to rise. There's no need to feel bad, everyone has their own reasons for selling.

That depends on the hodler itself. But as for me, I do hodl it for quite longer but have actual plans to sell my coins when there is a need of emergency funds, or when the right time and the perfect price has come to sell off my coins. While some hodl for their future usage, but others are certainly hodling for life, and for their retirement purposes.

Just do whatever is convenient for you. After all, we do have different goals with bitcoin. And we will achieve them in different timeline.

It's an investment, so you keep it because it grows over time.

The most reasonable ways to sell Bitcoin would be to buy another asset, like a house for example.

If you're in a bad financial situation and need liquidity fast, you could also sell it to remove the bad situation immediately.

But selling Bitcoin for fiat just so that you have fiat makes no much sense as fiat depreciates over time and Bitcoin does the opposite.

That's why it's usually better to just hodl, specially if your girlfriend is at a lesbian bar and you're drinking whiskey.

Holding does not mean that you have to hold it for the rest of your life. Everyone will try to hold Bitcoin according to their goals and needs. Some may hold it until the end of their working life, some for their next generation, or for a few years. Anyone can hold Bitcoin according to their wishes. The demand for Bitcoin is increasing and will continue to do so in the future. Although Bitcoin is not very effective in the short term, long-term holders will definitely expect a good return from Bitcoin. If a Bitcoin holder can hold it for at least two cycles, keeping in mind the long-term goal, he will be able to get a return of several times the assets he holds. He will decide when to sell his Bitcoin according to his needs.

What does it mean to hold Bitcoin forever? Who among the users has acquired immortality? Therefore, your wording, OP, should not be understood literally. But you are, in a sense, on the right track with the idea of holding, the idea of investing in Bitcoin, and holding it until the owner understands that his goals have somehow been achieved, and he is ready to sell. But again, the right move would be to sell the profit in parts, only some parts, and then, if the next stage is possible, continue accumulating.

There has been cases, where people are either passed away, or in prison, or just forget their access, and either someone else, or them, finally get an access, and they made huge amount. Just recently, some person who had 80k bitcoins from the early satoshi days, cashed it out for 9 billion dollars.

Imagine the thrill of that, no idea if he was in prison or if that money was stolen, no idea how he waited this long, I mean you say no to 1 million, sure, weird, but ok, then you say no to 10 million, weird, you are crazy, you say no to 100 million??? You are certifiably insane. This dude said no to 1 billon! dollars and waited until 9. How can you even do that, I always like to assume because they couldn't sell, not because they didn't, otherwise it's hard to believe it.

Are we are to live forever? Who among us is to live forever? I think no one. Since there's no one, I believe we will all sell our Bitcoin someday at different time and price when we feel like. That doesn't mean any time we sell our Bitcoin that will be the end of accumulation of it. It's not, the goal of making profits for each Bitcoin buy for long term gains will still be there

There should be some amount of bitcoin that you may hold for your lifetime and never sell. Maybe the next generation may get the benefit of that holding if not us. This is similar to people buying and holding land and property for life and never selling it, no matter how high the price reaches.

However, over the last few years, as we have known the bitcoin 4-year cycle, it is better to sell some bitcoin at the bull market peak and then buy back in the bear market. This way you can increase your bitcoin holding too.

Everyone buying Bitcoin has different goals. Some are temporary profit takers while others are long term holders and just so you know, no one can hodl Bitcoin forever. At some point, either you're going to sell it off, pass it on to your family, or die and leave the bitcoin. If you choose to sell part of it for whatever reason, no one is going to crucify you for that. It's not such a bad idea to sell and use the money for something else.

I don't understand that either. There's no point in holding forever, at some point, you'll be "forced" to sell, and exchange into fiat. No one in the right mind (with a few exceptions perhaps) would keep it as Bitcoin, and I'm talking about the average user here, not some huge investor that holds thousands coins. Bitcoin is a long-term commitment, I've been actively holding again since early 2021, acquring little by little, and I'm not planning to sell anytime soon. However, I acknowledge that sooner or later, I'll have to exchange into fiat, a process I'm yet to think of how to do though.

If someone comes to me and asks about what he should do with his bitcoin - then I will give him two options without forcing either one. If he wants quick profits, he should be a trader with a relatively lower percentage return. However, if he wants higher percentage returns, he should be a long-term holder or investor. The two options above really depend on what the main goal is of getting involved in the bitcoin market - the approach can vary.

I never advise someone to be a holder forever - but if that is a big plan for their children's future ^{[inheritance]} then that is their choice. Some people may have considered bitcoin as an asset they could pass on to their children in the future. They bought it and hold it, unwilling to sell it even after it hit a new all-time high. This idea isn't wrong, but I don't see any reason not to capitalize on two different cycles and make good profits.

I agree that achieving a goal is something you should set before investing in Bitcoin, and you should have one. The goal I'm referring to is the same as a target, and a target is when you've achieved your desired profit and are ready to sell because you've achieved that goal.
Treating Bitcoin with a long-term goal is certainly the right choice when it comes to profit, but that doesn't mean you have to be fixated on that goal. There's nothing wrong with selling your profits, or some of the profits you've made while holding Bitcoin, to enjoy them or fulfill your desires, and if Bitcoin is the solution, then do it.
I think holding it without owning anything is overkill, because you can actually earn or realize something from the profits you make from Bitcoin, or you can also take or use some of your Bitcoin profits to build a business. That's much better because it will support you in making more money and also support you in accumulating Bitcoin from the profits you make from Bitcoin and for Bitcoin. And that's a very smart thought and decision, and you will feel financially secure throughout your life and into the future.

My hold is not forever it cannot be. There is no use of holding bitcoin if I do not make use of it. In as much as it is planned for generational wealth, still doesn't mean that I shouldn't enjoy some part of it to have a good life.

There are people who are on the extreme on this and they have their different reasons which is good but what's the use of holding when you cannot enjoy its benefits. For beginners let knowledge guide you to make the decisions you choose to in the Bitcoin world and not trends or influencers.

Neatly executed to the question on ground as it should be. Investment is about patience and this metric of patience is subjective to each investor on how long they wish to hodl. If we are hodling on an investment for life without setting a periodic item of taking profit it makes the whole idea of investment less meaningful.
 There should be a duration in your holding and as profit is made you take it to solve other problems. Holding for life is what I understand to be not selling all your bitcoin holdings when profit is made but taking profit and still leaving some significantly amount of bitcoin left in your holding to yield more profit in the future.

I would say for me personally it is until retire it's for holding, but rest is unknown. Obviously I failed, and had to sell. Because I had to take a lot of debt for medical reasons, and because of that I had to pay a lot more, so we need to realize it is not going to be okay to take even more loans, since it would be weird. Think about getting 1 but paying back 2, why would I do that forever, so I sold my bitcoins and paid that way.

But ideally, I am saving whenever I can, and if I could do that, I will do until I retire. When I have enough to retire or old enough to retire, rest is unknown because it depends on that period. If I want to, I can sell it all if I have any, and then just live great retirement life, or maybe just keep, and sell chunks each month.

It seems that the inventor of this word was simply a little drunk. :)


It is recommended that you do what YOURSELF thinks is right. No one can determine what will be the best action for you.

Eternal hold is meaningless. Bitcoin should be useful, either to you personally or to the BTC-community. That is, coins should circulate, and therefore move from one user to another. Of course, eternal hold is also useful for the community in its own way, since by reducing the number of coins in circulation it will increase the value of each coin, but I believe that this is not the best use.

This is a good plan. For as long as you're able to save, you can save and hold as long as you can. And there is no pressure in selling and you'll only do that whenever you want to or whenever you need some cash and all you have to do is to sell some of it. While it's tempting to sell all when the price seems to be good. But I guess the other part of ourselves is going to tell us that we should keep at least some even few mBTCs for the sake of holding.