At what point does HODLing stop being a strategy and become emotional?

[Mpamaegbu]

We have heard on several occasions that HODLing is the best way for every bitcoin person to survive in the cryptocurrency market which I quite understand the idea but sometimes I used to wonder where the line is.

If everyone hodls and no one sells, how do we fathom the real value of Bitcoin? Again, if everyone hodls and no one sells; that would defeat the essence of P2P which Satoshi encouraged and which kick-started the famous 10k Bitcoin for 2Pizzas transaction on the blockchain. For those who believe hodling is the best way to go, they should realize that whatever isn't subjected to the dynamics of the market hardly have a real value attached to it.

Like at what point does holding stop being a strategy and starting becoming emotional attachment to a position?

For those with more experience about this HODLing strategy, what exactly helps you to realize whether you are still following a strategy or you are just holding on emotionally and how do you stop or reorganize your plans?

At the point that you're obviously aware that a dip is certain from news or TA but you refuse to swap to stables for later re-entry at a lower price or completely sell off and take profit so you can buy back later. Anyone who can't do this is simply emotional towards whatever coin/token they're hodling.

[Moreno233]

To be able to avoid what this post is pointing to, it is important to determine the reason for HODLing from the beginning because that is what will guide the decision you will take on the short term and on the long term. If you know this, then when you reach your target, it will no be difficult to know and you will definitely follow your plans. Some people target to HODL for 10 years after which they will know what to do while some plan to HODL forever and never running out of Bitcoin. Just find out what you are comfortable with and HODLing will never be a burden to you.

[ScamViruS]

Those who buy Bitcoin set a minimum target in advance so that when the market reaches that level, they will sell their Bitcoin. Holding does not mean that someone will keep their Bitcoin holdings for the rest of their life, because everyone has a different perspective. If someone is holding Bitcoin emotionally, it is a part of their total wealth, so that even if something unexpected happens in the market, they will have to hold that Bitcoin for the long term. So there are different perspectives among those who invest in Bitcoin, and this keeps the market open and there is market liquidity.

[Emitdama]

Some people target to HODL for 10 years after which they will know what to do while some plan to HODL forever and never running out of Bitcoin. Just find out what you are comfortable with and HODLing will never be a burden to you.

Yeah, from the beginning days of entering into bitcoin space, no one could plan for how long, they would be preferring to continue their holding of bitcoin. Like you have mentioned, it is being decided by the comfort level and the financial need. In my opinion, holding bitcoin slowly becoming an emotional one over the time because we will start loving your holding which is growing over the time. When you are emotionally connected, you will plan for holding for rest of your life.

Personally I would prefer to hold my bitcoin investment for the rest of my life but not sure how my financial freedom would be in in near future because continuing my holding would be fully depend on that only.

[Maslate]

You don't hold because that's what your emotions tell you, you are hodling because that's the right thing to do with bitcoin. So stop thinking that hodling has its certain expiration. As long as you decide to keep on buying, hodling immediately follows so that you won't sell at its lower price but will patiently wait for the perfect timing to sell and make massive profits in the end.

Hodling has no end. As long as you stay with bitcoin, hodling is advisable, regardless if its a long term or short term hodling.

[jossiel]

It only stops IMHO when you don't have anything to HODL anymore.

The point of holding is to protect the wealth that you have and the hope that it shall grow in the future.

And so, if you have nothing to hold anymore then the essence of it is no longer there. So, having nothing and after selling, when someone becomes too emotional to hold when they see the prices too high and they don't want to take some profit even a little bit.

[FirmWars]

Holding can not stop being a strategy, it's always a strategy for letting your coins value increase while you prevent yourself from selling until the value have reached where you want it to. When you are emotional about your holding, probably you easily get influence to make a rash decision because of any slight change in price, that would make the person to sell quicker than they wanted to. Holding doesn't need to become emotional but it's already a thing of choice, and you get to decide whether you wan to sell your coins when the value has grown big or you want to sell once you make few bucks profit.

[Alphakilo]

Holding can not stop being a strategy, it's always a strategy for letting your coins value increase while you prevent yourself from selling until the value have reached where you want it to. When you are emotional about your holding, probably you easily get influence to make a rash decision because of any slight change in price, that would make the person to sell quicker than they wanted to. Holding doesn't need to become emotional but it's already a thing of choice, and you get to decide whether you wan to sell your coins when the value has grown big or you want to sell once you make few bucks profit.

The thing that makes holding very interesting as a strategy is if it is tied to a long term goal or plan that is sure to be very helpful and evident as growth when others see how it developed.
Holding shouldn't be a chore or have emotional attachments unless one does nothing all day but think of only holding BTC. When it's a fun engagement, it is more interesting and done with ease that even a dip wouldn't matter.

[Joy- maker]

Correct me if am wrong, because I don't think if anyone who have held Bitcoin for at least two to three cycle will still be feeling emotional at some point of their Bitcoin investment journey. remember everybody are investing in bitcoin with a target, which am pretty sure that when they achieve their targets they will either take profit, or sale some of portion of their Bitcoin, depending on how they plan their Bitcoin investment.
The only people i see who fall into this category of becoming emotional at some point of their Bitcoin investment journey, are those who were never investing in bitcoin from their genuine mind, they are just investing in bitcoin with FOMO, and those investing in bitcoin with FOMO always become emotional and confuse at some point of their Bitcoin investment journey.

[Botnake]

You stop being a hodler once you decide to sell all your coins, that's it. But if you are still trying to navigate your investment well and consistently invest in bitcoin, there's no reason to stop hodling as that will only limit your future profits, or worst selling your coins at a price lower than the price you first bought your coins.

HODLing is not forever, and that's right. There's always a time to perfectly sell your coins, but the fact that you have not reached that point yet, then its a good way of saying to never stop HODLing as much as possible.

[SmartGold01]

At first you have to look at your investment plans and ask yourself whether you are going for long term investment or short term investments, if is for long term investment then you should be looking at years to come before pulling out your investment, maybe it could be like 15 years, 18 years or and above depending on when you have decided to pull it out, and of course if you are going for short term then you must have to at least makes around 10% to 20% profit on your investment before exiting from the investment. Investment doesn't hold emotions rather I can say that trading or gambling is what mostly affects our emotions so as and investors you should be focusing on the duration you planned holding and that wouldn't for any affect negatively except you decides to pull out your investment when the market might started declining seriously and you now see that as a threat that you can't hold any longer.

[Potato Chips]

You raise a good topic OP haha.

I don't think we have to exit at the top. I mean, in an ideal world sure, but predicting the top has always been hard, don't beat yourself up if you didn't exit at the top or near the top. It happens. As long as you're in profit, you're good.

But to be honest, with bitcoin, I still think we haven't topped yet lol because crypto adoption has just started, and more folks will jump in over time.

[Awaklara]

For those with more experience about this HODLing strategy, what exactly helps you to realize whether you are still following a strategy or you are just holding on emotionally and how do you stop or reorganize your plans?

Everyone who invests or trades should have goals to achieve. Sticking to your initial plan before buying is an effort to be able to hold onto assets according to your intentions. However, in reality, there are traders or holders who eventually give up on maintaining their plans that are not achieved because price movements may not go as expected.
Some traders definitely rely on their experience when rearranging their plans, especially when the situation does not meet expectations. Those who are beginners tend to panic, but experienced ones have several strategies that have actually been prepared in advance.

[bitgolden]

Bitcoin has been started to be considered as an asset even it is in digital format, it means people will never think about cashing out their gold or real estate property unless otherwise there is unavoidable requirement of selling them.

When bitcoin reaches real adaption heights, we can expect more people will be holding bitcoin for their lifetime, already people started holding stocks and gold kind of few assess for lifetime and I am sure that bitcoin might be joining to such portfolio in the near future. I am one of the lifetime holder and I learned that strategy from this community.

[Koadharber]

Holding can not stop being a strategy, it's always a strategy for letting your coins value increase while you prevent yourself from selling until the value have reached where you want it to. When you are emotional about your holding, probably you easily get influence to make a rash decision because of any slight change in price, that would make the person to sell quicker than they wanted to. Holding doesn't need to become emotional but it's already a thing of choice, and you get to decide whether you wan to sell your coins when the value has grown big or you want to sell once you make few bucks profit.

The thing that makes holding very interesting as a strategy is if it is tied to a long term goal or plan that is sure to be very helpful and evident as growth when others see how it developed.
Holding shouldn't be a chore or have emotional attachments unless one does nothing all day but think of only holding BTC. When it's a fun engagement, it is more interesting and done with ease that even a dip wouldn't matter.

Holding only works when it is anchored to intention rather than emotion. The moment price movement starts dictating feelings the strategy quietly breaks down. Long term holding is less about waiting and more about deciding in advance what matters and what does not. People who react to every candle never truly hold they hover between fear and hope. The strength of holding comes from clarity not patience alone. When you already know why you are holding then short term noise loses power. This is why experienced holders rarely watch charts all day. They understand that constant monitoring invites emotional interference. A holding strategy without emotional discipline eventually turns into impulsive selling. Detachment is what protects the strategy over time.

What makes holding effective is alignment with a broader life structure. When income is stable and goals are clear holding feels effortless rather than stressful. It becomes part of a plan instead of the center of attention. People who tie holding to a long horizon stop obsessing over small profits.

[OcTradism]

I don't think we have to exit at the top. I mean, in an ideal world sure, but predicting the top has always been hard, don't beat yourself up if you didn't exit at the top or near the top. It happens. As long as you're in profit, you're good.

But to be honest, with bitcoin, I still think we haven't topped yet lol because crypto adoption has just started, and more folks will jump in over time.

Predictions are hard to accurate and timing the market when it happens is harder. Combining price prediction and the time is impossible so just don't try to do the hard things.

Investment with DCA, buying bitcoin regularly with time, and holding your bitcoin with time for profit. Investors can have plans to accumulate and hold in one cycle, two or three cycles, even longer, but when they want to take profit, they can sell gradually too. It's like DCA out for taking profit that does not need to time the market for the top for exits.

This strategy of JJG can help too.
[ANN] JJG Sustainable Bitcoin Withdrawal Strategy
https://bitcoindata.science/withdrawal-strategy

[tvplus006]

...We have heard on several occasions that HODLing is the best way for every bitcoin person to survive in the cryptocurrency market which I quite understand the idea but sometimes I used to wonder where the line is. ..

Of course, holding is the best strategy, but we should not forget that the largest profit, estimated in thousands of percent, was received by the early owners of bitcoin. Therefore, if you think that you have made a profit, the size of which fully satisfies you, you can lock in profits, part of which you can spend on your own needs, and the second part you can leave for new purchases at a reduced price.

[Hamza2424]

For those with more experience about this HODLing strategy, what exactly helps you to realize whether you are still following a strategy or you are just holding on emotionally and how do you stop or reorganize your plans?

A lot of holders and newbies I will count those people as newbies who are in the space for even 5 years but this is the first time they are holding money and waiting for alt season or btc season, so most of them don't even ask this question until it is very late as of now it is very late for those waiting for alt season.

As some were even waiting for the btc new ath too or higher, but most of us realized now it is very late for a new ath.

Anyway, the answer to your question is, we do the math, like calculation again, if we are holding right like if our strategy or the token we are holding still have in it to be pumped or we are just holding it with emotions like attached to it, that we don't want to sell, bro that's how we can find out.

[Yamifoud]

No one is emotionally hodling for long term. Once emotions are involved, the eagerness to buy and sell quickly for profits will already be shown, and its not good and advisable to practice that way.

But if what you are doing is HODLing for consecutive years, that is already driven by your own knowledge and wise strategy in the market, not by any high emotions that could only make you decide to sell quickly for instant profits.

[terrific]

But to be honest, with bitcoin, I still think we haven't topped yet lol because crypto adoption has just started, and more folks will jump in over time.

We're not yet there and anyone who would sell likely to what they think is the top.
They'll come back and will continue to accumulate once again because once a hodler, is always a hodler.
There is no point in being emotional as we hold and stopping what we've used to do.
I think if we have forgotten to be a hodler, it's on you that will show who you really are and if you did really stopped being one.