December 18, 2013

The Origin
of HODL

A drunk man on a Bitcoin forum made a typo. It became the defining philosophy of an asset class.

The Post

I AM HODLING

Bitcoin had crashed over 50% from its ~$1,150 peak to ~$550, triggered by the PBOC banning financial institutions from handling Bitcoin. The forums were in panic. GameKyuubi logged on after whiskey and a rough evening and typed the title twice — knew it was wrong both times. Didn't care.

What followed was an accidental masterclass in behavioral finance: if you can't beat the traders, don't play their game. Just hold.

Bitcointalk · SpeculationDec 18, 2013 — 10:03 PM

I AM HODLING

G
GameKyuubiSr. Member

I type d that tyitle twice because I knew it was wrong the first time. Still wrong. w/e.

GF's out at a lesbian bar, BTC crashing WHY AM I HOLDING? I'LL TELL YOU WHY.

It's because I'm a bad trader and I know it. Good traders can read charts. I am not a good trader.

I AM HODLING.

This is your only defense against both groups: HODL.

2,600+ replies797K+ viewsinfinite impact
~$550
Bitcoin price — Dec 18, 2013
The day of the post
$126K
Bitcoin ATH (Oct 2025)
+22,800% from HODL post
2,600+
Original thread replies
797K+ views on Bitcointalk
Hall of Fame

Famous HODLers

01

Satoshi Nakamoto

~1M BTC unmoved since 2009. The original HODLer.

~1M BTC
02

Michael Saylor

MicroStrategy. Largest corporate BTC holder. 'Bitcoin is digital property.'

190K+ BTC
03

Winklevoss Twins

Gemini founders. Early Bitcoin believers since 2013.

Significant
04

El Salvador

First nation with Bitcoin as legal tender (2021). National reserve.

Sovereign
05

GameKyuubi

Posted 'I AM HODLING' Dec 18, 2013. Returned Feb 2026 — first $HODL token with the original creator actively onboard.

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