Don't Just HODL But HODL Wisely and Securely

[Nheer]

One of the most powerful words that resonates strongly among bitcoiners is the word "HODL". This word describes our undying faith in bitcoin's past, present and future potential. In the bitcoin community, there are those who have been holding for a long-term and also those who have just started hodling because they are moved by the fast approaching halving event in 2024. As we are holding bitcoin we should be vigilant because hackers and scammers tirelessly seek opportunities and loopholes to steal your bitcoin. Therefore, it is not enough to hold but HODL WISELY.

It’s really a strong word that gives hope to thousands of bitcoiners all over the world. We are all aware of bitcoin’s potential but It’s not just about hodling, just as OP said don’t just hodl blindly without knowing how to safeguard our assets. There are quite a number of people whose sole purpose is to steal people’s bitcoin and if you don’t safeguard your assets there won’t be anything to hodl and the halving event we are all waiting for will be missed. This post will be beneficial to newbies who just come into the crypto world.

I agree with the spirit of the OP, just pointing out that the famous "HODL" came from one who was drunk and misspelled the word. Plus the last 20 posts on this forum are about shitcoins, so you can see he didn't HODL so much finally. This thread in comparison is much more serious and many newbies would do well to take note but I fear that most if they find it will be after they have made the mistake.

Lol what an epic post about HODL

When I first encountered the word HODL and learned what it meant, I was puzzled as to why the word was spelt differently and why they weren't simply spelt 'hold' so that anyone new to cryptocurrency could easily understand it meaning but then I thought to myself maybe there was a serious story behind the derivation of the term.

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[Z-tight]

Even by using Electrum, there are still ways that could screw your security that up. The reality is that you cannot really just trust anything.

When you use Electrum you don't have to trust anything, it is open source and you can verify the code, and it is also a self custodial wallet, so you control your keys and seed phrase, so most of your own part after verifying everything is then to ensure that an attacker does not get your keys or seed phrase.

It's what the community recommends that makes us trust it. I read what you said about not being connected in the internet at all, but you never know what you'll plug in into your device. I might sound like a real paranoid, but there's just no real 100% security.

There is no such thing as 100% security, but there are methods to achieve the best and most reliable kind of security, and one of that is by using well reviewed open source wallets, and by using them in a completely airgapped device. If your device is offline, you should never plug anything into it, and never connect it to the internet.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Yeah, you are right, OP. Definitely, the reason why investors hold their Bitcoin is for the purpose of selling during a bull market when the APY on their investment is up to what they expect, but it will be effortless for someone to hold their investment carelessly and lose it to hackers. Some people, too, after holding for a long time, would just make small mistakes, which can just cause them to be compromised, and before they knew it, they had lost their investment. There's a saying that "wherever your treasure is hidden, there your mind will be." So, as a Bitcoin investor, the best thing to do is guide your asset jealously and let your security be paramount to you.

[tbct_mt2]

Yeah, you are right, OP. Definitely, the reason why investors hold their Bitcoin is for the purpose of selling during a bull market when the APY on their investment is up to what they expect

Investment comes from profit incentivization, not from funny experience. It is natural to wait for chances to take profit with all investors.

but it will be effortless for someone to hold their investment carelessly and lose it to hackers. Some people, too, after holding for a long time, would just make small mistakes, which can just cause them to be compromised, and before they knew it, they had lost their investment.

Mistakes come from the beginning, how they store bitcoin. Their bitcoin is stolen because things happened in the past, from decisions to store bitcoin on online accounts, in custodial wallets, hot wallets. What we see after a hack happened looks simple but the real cause is hidden far in the past.

Security checklist for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency holders
Reminder: Do not keep your money in online accounts
If unknown about a wallet, Walletscrutiny.com can help.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

For me hodling is only for those who have extra money to invest but for us who have no extra cash I don't think we can hodl. 😅

LOL, kill the joke. Do you mean you don't have a job that you are earning from? The extra money to buy and hold Bitcoin is not that you must have $ 1000 first or $ 500 before you can buy; you can start accumulating your Bitcoin for as little as $10 per week or every two weeks, depending on what you are able to afford. I believe you spend more than $100, so you could just spare $20 every month to invest in Bitcoin. I really don't know your financial state, but investing in Bitcoin is not about putting in a huge amount first. You can just do it as your normal savings, or don't you save too? 

[Marvell1]

Even by using Electrum, there are still ways that could screw your security that up. The reality is that you cannot really just trust anything. It's what the community recommends that makes us trust it. I read what you said about not being connected in the internet at all, but you never know what you'll plug in into your device. I might sound like a real paranoid, but there's just no real 100% security.

Everything has been built by someone through code or hardware. There is no perfect security, just lessening the risk of being hacked.

But that's the best way to hold your coins, there's no other way to increase the security.

At least if you've do everything to make sure your coins are secure e.g. not trust any centralized site, use open source wallet and exchange, limiting your activities, protect your privacy etc, the probability you will lose your coins is near 0%.

Everything in this world is only relative and nothing is absolute, so no matter what methods and best equipment we use, there will be problems that we cannot predict. Yes, there really is no 100% security, but we should take the utmost responsibility with our bitcoins because this is our precious asset and our future. Therefore, it is our duty to use what we consider the best ways to protect our bitcoins. There may be rare incidents but at least we won't regret trying our best. And I think if we are strict about security, I believe rare incidents will happen very rarely.

[bayu7adi]

- Those using exchanges can testify that most if not all exchanges are going Kyc, this will enable one to be safe at some point

- Is it just the KYC? No! You must confirm if the exchange also has a hot and cold wallet installed. You know for an extra level of protection

What's the connection between this thread and KYC? This is a decision about practicing HODLing wisely, not about data verification.

Storing crypto can be achieved without the necessity of undergoing KYC, even if you acquire it through a centralized exchange (CEX); it doesn't guarantee that every exchange will enforce KYC, although some may have certain limitations in place.

[Woodie]

There are more than one thousand ways to HODL bitcoin. In fact, as of 2022 there were about 2,790 Bitcoin-related applications are available on the Google Play Store while Apple Store had about 651 such apps. To add to this there are 288 hardware wallets and 44 bearer tokens in circulation, all of there telling you that they are able to secure your bitcoin holdings

Don't just hold but hodl wisely and securely.

Appreciate the Timely advice  

But in the name of hodling wisely and securely,  this isn't as easy as it sounds as not everyone has the technical know-how on choosing the best wallets as they believe that anything found on these app stores are legit when in fact not!!
Android devices being the most used devices in the world, I think Google fellas aren't doing enough to protect their users either as some apps have been reported to be fake, duplicates,  malware etc which compromises on our security and these apps keep finding themselves on the Store.

[WatChe]

Yeah, you are right, OP. Definitely, the reason why investors hold their Bitcoin is for the purpose of selling during a bull market when the APY on their investment is up to what they expect, but it will be effortless for someone to hold their investment carelessly and lose it to hackers. Some people, too, after holding for a long time, would just make small mistakes, which can just cause them to be compromised, and before they knew it, they had lost their investment. There's a saying that "wherever your treasure is hidden, there your mind will be." So, as a Bitcoin investor, the best thing to do is guide your asset jealously and let your security be paramount to you.

Obviously there is no point in HODLing Bitcoin forever. One must sell his bitcoin whenever he is getting adequate profit. If you see price history of bitcoin then its very much evident that there are ample opportunities to buy back bitcoin. Bitcoin went upto 67k$ and we recently saw it touching 16k$.
Security of your Bitcoin is on shoulders of its owners unlike in fiat model. You need to remain vigilant all the time to keep your Bitcoins safe. Its also an irony that many don't take Bitcoin security seriously unless they meet with some security incident.

[Blitzboy]

Yeah, you are right, OP. Definitely, the reason why investors hold their Bitcoin is for the purpose of selling during a bull market when the APY on their investment is up to what they expect, but it will be effortless for someone to hold their investment carelessly and lose it to hackers. Some people, too, after holding for a long time, would just make small mistakes, which can just cause them to be compromised, and before they knew it, they had lost their investment. There's a saying that "wherever your treasure is hidden, there your mind will be." So, as a Bitcoin investor, the best thing to do is guide your asset jealously and let your security be paramount to you.

Obviously there is no point in HODLing Bitcoin forever. One must sell his bitcoin whenever he is getting adequate profit. If you see price history of bitcoin then its very much evident that there are ample opportunities to buy back bitcoin. Bitcoin went upto 67k$ and we recently saw it touching 16k$.
Security of your Bitcoin is on shoulders of its owners unlike in fiat model. You need to remain vigilant all the time to keep your Bitcoins safe. Its also an irony that many don't take Bitcoin security seriously unless they meet with some security incident.

While HODLing Bitcoin forever may not be the best approach, assuming that historical price performance determines the best course is unwise. The economic system may be changing before our eyes, thus established indicators may not apply.

Talking about Bitcoin security as a personal responsibility is like disregarding a larger drama. Who knows whether powerful entities want you to down your guard? As for those not taking security seriously, perhaps its all part of a bigger ploy to divert attention and concentrate power. Bitcoin is the new battlefield of anti-centralization.

[Silberman]

Obviously there is no point in HODLing Bitcoin forever. One must sell his bitcoin whenever he is getting adequate profit. If you see price history of bitcoin then its very much evident that there are ample opportunities to buy back bitcoin. Bitcoin went upto 67k$ and we recently saw it touching 16k$.
Security of your Bitcoin is on shoulders of its owners unlike in fiat model. You need to remain vigilant all the time to keep your Bitcoins safe. Its also an irony that many don't take Bitcoin security seriously unless they meet with some security incident.

I think those that speak of holding bitcoin forever or at least for a very long amount of time, do so because they think that at some point bitcoin will be accepted all over the world, and as such the need to convert bitcoin to fiat will disappear as you will be able to use bitcoin directly to buy whatever you want at all times, still it makes more sense to me to be willing to sell some of your bitcoin when its price is very high, so you can use that fiat to enter the market again once the price is lower.

[Viscore]

Of course, hodlers should always be responsible enough to not just hold but focus on the highly potential coins that will most likely succeed the volatility of the market, and as hodlers, we are obliged to secure our wallet 24/7 so that scammers and hackers will never see any opportunity to get in. Beginners should be more aware of this as they might be thinking that while hodling is less risky, then we could just hold as easy as it is.

[n0ne]

When the choice is to hodl, better choice is to do it in an offline wallet. Going through the provided source it is an easy task to find the right one. Just move the fund to be hodl and keep it secure. With bitcoin we shouldn't make any mistake and even a small mistake will make us experience big loss. Most of the users could've experienced it and it is always good to know the consequences and stay safe. I personally got trapped by a wallet and lost little bitcoin, and this happened almost 6 years back. The value according to that time period looks small. Now the same could've turned atleast few thousand dollars in value.

[panganib999]

Sometimes. The best way to hold and store your bitcoins is that which is readily available. You can't disregard just how protective simply jotting your seedphrase on your wallet or something secure like a safety vault. That's why I always say "use whatever you have at your hand" when people ask me what's the best form of saving and securing your wallet.

As for holding bitcoins, the same could be said. You don't need any convoluting strat to hold and store bitcoins especially if you're just a beginning investor. It's much better to build discipline storing those bitcoins and keeping them saved without you getting tempted to take them out or something along those lines. As a beginner, don't trouble yourself with these hard to understand and confusing concepts. It's much better to stick to the basics and learn the fundamentals first before trying out something new.

[peter0425]

Image source:

There might be thousand available to store your wallet but there are only few that we can  call as safest way to keep and HODL your bitcoin.

there is only one simple word that we keep telling everyone since the beginning and that is "Not your KEY , Not your Bitcoin"

so those application you provide might be good for having bitcoin but not for completely holding.

I may say that the only safest way is when you are having your KEY on your own possession .

[noorman0]

-snip-
"use whatever you have at your hand" when people ask me what's the best form of saving and securing your wallet.

There are indeed many alternative ways to use household tools, but they are not the "best" storage as far as I know. You'll at least have to make some tool upgrades to meet durability and strength standards, but it'll still cost you money. It's no different from buying a hardware wallet product that is done by experts.
The bottom line is, if you want the best wallet, you have to spend some of your money.

[Ricardo11]

We must hold carefully. We can safely hold any wallet with our own caution, skill and intelligence. All information in our own wallets must be kept secure at our own responsibility. Before placing your money in the wallet you need to be sure how secure your wallet is, it is very important. Fully secure your wallet before placing it in your bitcoin wallet. And handle it wisely.

[Best-mary]

One of the most powerful words that resonates strongly among bitcoiners is the word "HODL". This word describes our undying faith in bitcoin's past, present and future potential. In the bitcoin community, there are those who have been holding for a long-term and also those who have just started hodling because they are moved by the fast approaching halving event in 2024. As we are holding bitcoin we should be vigilant because hackers and scammers tirelessly seek opportunities and loopholes to steal your bitcoin. Therefore, it is not enough to hold but HODL WISELY.

There are more than one thousand ways to HODL bitcoin. In fact, as of 2022 there were about 2,790 Bitcoin-related applications are available on the Google Play Store while Apple Store had about 651 such apps. To add to this there are 288 hardware wallets and 44 bearer tokens in circulation, all of there telling you that they are able to secure your bitcoin holdings

Don't just hold but hold wisely and securely.

This topic is inspired by the responses I received in this thread - How Do I Verify the Integrity of Open-Source Code.

Image source:

Guess we're thinking alike. Just made a post about security and the factors we should look Into to avoid such mistakes. Nowhere is safe but where we keep our assets is very crucial

[Ever-young]

Thanks for this thread, as I have seen many people who says they are bitcoin holders many of them don’t even have real bitcoin all they have is some fake coins which can’t be withdrawn from the app which they downloaded from play store and be wasting their time that they are mining the bitcoin when all that can’t be withdrawn into their private wallet such people are off the league of holders.

I was also part of the people who hold bitcoin in some of the close source wallet in the past, but right now I have observe and learn the risk involved on the kind of wallet that I use. So I have made move of using one of the recommended wallet on the forum for safe keeping of my bitcoin.

[Mr.suevie]

We must hold carefully. We can safely hold any wallet with our own caution, skill and intelligence. All information in our own wallets must be kept secure at our own responsibility. Before placing your money in the wallet you need to be sure how secure your wallet is, it is very important. Fully secure your wallet before placing it in your bitcoin wallet. And handle it wisely.

That's the first thing every Bitcoin holder would do because holding your coins in a wallet where its safe is actually the best thing and idea that an investor could possibly fail to do because it's his asset and putting it in the wrong place will just guarantee him loss of asset so I think this part is pretty much covers by the investors need to secure his money or should I say Bitcoin. Protecting your wallet is certainly same thing as securing your bank apps but the two vaguely difference is that in one of these, you are no longer in control of your funds while latter is the case for the other.